Thieves & Wineries
by Ameliapoand
Summary: when Yuffie joined the group, Cloud never in his wildest dreams imagined that he and Yuffie would ever... get close. from strangers, to friends, to best friends, to... special friends... to... what was next? Cloud didn't know. plus, after discovering the dark, twisted history that bonds Yuffie to Sephiroth together in an unbreakable way, he wasn't exactly sure of anything.
1. The Loveseat

The air at Cosmo Canyon was warm, but not humid. During the day they didn't experience a modicum of peace; merchants wandered the ground level, harassing tourists alike with their glittery and expensive wares while the natives passed on by, brown skin gleaming in the sunlight and an expression of mild distaste coloring their facial features.

As Cloud and the others arrived, they'd been overwhelmed by all of the commotion, but now, with the sun retired deep into the canyon's crevices, there was a stillness in the atmosphere that enveloped Cloud further into its reaches. He'd waited until all of the other customers had stumbled out of the bar, sticky drinks in hand. This included the bartender who, with bleary eyes, told Cloud to lock up after he left. A moment of shock had delayed Cloud's response, but the bartender hadn't waited for too long before chucking him a small ring of keys. He hadn't uttered one word during the whole exchange, but Cloud nodded and immediately retreated into a small alcove off the main room.

Several chairs, all made from elegant wood, decorated the little hideaway, but Cloud had chosen the thinly-padded loveseat seated all the way in the back. Nestled in between shelves of colorful bottles—extra stock he presumed—Cloud expelled a breath before reaching over and snagging one of the bottles in his calloused palm. He was surprised to taste wine on his tongue rather than hard liquor, but the flavor was mild and pleasant and warmed the pit of his belly.

Only here, tucked away in the corner of this little bar did Cloud feel like he could _breathe_. Every second of every single day was preoccupied with the thought of Sephiroth and the Promised Land. There were still so many answers to questions he couldn't even begin to ask because in reality, Cloud knew nothing. He knew absolutely nothing about the events at Nibelheim and the Mako Reactor. He didn't know how Tifa and himself were still alive or _why_ —why Sephiroth had left them all but untouched. He didn't know why none of what transpired was remembered by Tifa or himself either. Serious injuries be damned, shouldn't _someone_ be able to account for what happened?

Cloud closed his eyes, forcing the intrusive thoughts out of his head. Sephiroth could wait until the morning. All in good time—no one had to save the world _tonight_. Right?

He heard the footsteps approach as he tipped the wine bottle up, swallowing several more mouthfuls of the sweet liquor. When he lowered the bottle, Cloud beheld Yuffie in the shadow of the alcove's doorway, her bronze eyes glowing in the building's lowlight.

Cloud, too exhausted for pleasantries, merely raised his eyebrows at her.

"Well," Yuffie chirped, mirth brewing in her eyes, "This is a neat little place."

Cloud's eyes raked over her lazily, and he sighed not unkindly as she strode into the room.

"Have you come for more materia? If so, I've left the majority of them with Tifa. You'll have to pilfer them some other time _,_ " he drawled. A touch of humor colored his voice as he spoke next.

"Or you could try your luck with _her._ See how that goes."

Yuffie rolled her eyes and padded towards one of the myriad shelves in the alcove. "Oh, please. Like I'd swipe them off you now. The trick is to steal when your target is least expecting it, and look at you," she said, flourishing her hand at him. "All alone, tired, and drinking by your lonesome. This is when you'd _most_ expect it."

Cloud didn't try to argue with her logic. It was true at any rate; Yuffie's mere presence always set Cloud on edge, as if his body knew never how to relax around her. Even if he tried to, in this moment, Cloud knew that he was vulnerable. The simple thought of their aloneness racked his nerves and he downed another guzzle of wine before frowning at it. The alcohol hadn't even touched him yet.

"I don't even know what most of these _are_ ," Yuffie complained. She was bent low, reading each bottle's label with careful and attentive eyes, though her narrow brows were furrowed with effort. She straightened herself and cast another glance at Cloud, who had nothing else to look at and was already—albeit, reluctantly—watching her. She dipped one of her hips downwards and smiled.

"Hm. Well, what are you drinking?"

Yuffie extended her hand in Cloud's direction and approached him with near-silent footfalls. Cloud must have drank half the bottle already, and despite not feeling any effect, he handed it over to her without question and reclined further into his seat. Not that her company wasn't entirely unwelcome, but Cloud hadn't expected further social interaction tonight. He shut his eyes and tried to force his body to unwind.

The sound of sloshing liquid cut through the air like an arrow. "Oh, this is wine!" Yuffie exclaimed, her voice undeniably pleased.

Cloud's head bobbed in agreement before he let it fall back against the lip of the loveseat. _Thud._

"Indeed, it is."

The liquid sloshed once more as Yuffie presumably took another mouthful.

"I haven't had wine for so long," she said. "I'd almost forgotten what it tasted like."

With his eyes still closed, Cloud motioned with a hand. "Feel free to have the rest."

A particularly mischievous chuckle sounded off and froze Cloud's nerves into ice. It made him nervous when she was happy. She was unpredictable when she was happy. And anticipating unpredictability, at this given moment, felt a lot like effort Cloud didn't have the willpower to summon.

"Don't mind if I do."

Cloud's face tightened with focus. He was willing himself to breathe deeply, to loosen the perpetual tightness that's lived inside his chest ever since Mt. Nibel. Maybe if he breathed deeply and for long enough, he'd be able to undo all of the tension of the day. Just maybe, even with Yuffie in the room, he'd start to relax.

Perhaps it was the alcohol finally taking effect, but Cloud didn't realize that something had changed until he felt a large pressure press upon him. By the time his eyes flew open, Yuffie had already slipped into his lap, her front and pelvis crushed completely to his.

He felt a distant stirring in the bottom of his stomach.

Slowly, Cloud lifted his head off the top of the loveseat and was met with Yuffie's face, only a foot from his own. She appraised him with a neutral gaze, as if nothing was out of the ordinary, and swung the bottle up to meet her mouth. She drank heartily, black lashes fluttering against the tops of her cheekbones. Cloud watched the entire procession without a word and when Yuffie turned to face him once more, he lifted a single eyebrow to the top of his forehead.

 _Yes?_ the gesture read. _You called?_

"You know," Yuffie started, her voice suddenly low and clear in between them, "Aerith is in love with you."

Cloud's eyebrow snapped back into place. "You came in here—and straddled me—all because you want to talk about _Aerith_?"

Yuffie watched him a gaze that never wavered. "You'd think it'd be enough having one girl fawning over you like a vulture eating carrion. But, no. Tifa is in love with you too. Don't you see it? Don't you notice?"

Maybe it was on accident—though Cloud highly doubted that it was—but Yuffie then readjusted herself, the movement causing her groin to slide along his own. Cloud fought the momentary pleasure this brought his body and maintained eye contact with Yuffie, absently noting the clusters of freckles which dotted her nose.

"I notice," he said. "What's your point?"

Yuffie leaned in, closing the distance between their chests. "It's like watching two felines in heat. It's ridiculous," she said, slipping her arms around Cloud's neck. The bottle of wine clinked softly against one of his ears. "When they aren't staring at _you_ , they're staring at each other, sizing the other one up like goods in a store, assessing what it is that you must possibly see in them. Or, who you prefer."

Cloud wanted to retort that she was wrong, that reducing Aerith and Tifa to pining teenagers in love was absurd, but the words died in his mouth before his lips could even shape them. They _did_ stare, and an awful lot, too. It was distracting, to say the least. During battle, it was downright dangerous. Yuffie watched Cloud's face as he formed these thoughts and eventually smirked in victory. He knew she was right. _She_ knew she was right.

"So, I began to think to myself… what is it about you that makes these girls act like lovesick bimbos?" Yuffie breathed, her voice a mere whisper. "What is it that I'm missing? Apart from the general broodiness, you seem like the average guy. Nothing too special, though, you are downright _attractive_. Nobody can deny that."

Cloud remained impassive, even as Yuffie brought her lips to his ear, her silky, brown hair washing over the side of his face like luxurious fabric.

"I know you notice them. Both of them. And maybe you even love one of them. But it hasn't seemed to matter. You, Tifa, Aerith… all of you run around in circles, never actually _saying_ what you want. But I'm not like that," she whispered, breath tickling his neck.

Yuffie touched the tip of her tongue to Cloud's earlobe before nipping at it with her teeth. Cloud's hands balled into fists at his sides and Yuffie laughed softly. "I'm a woman too, Cloud. I have wants… desires. And if nobody in this group is actually going to do anything about theirs, then I'm going to go after what _I_ want." Slowly, she brushed her lips across the underside of Cloud's jawline and felt his breathing halt in his chest.

"Does that sound fair to you?"

Cloud's head was spinning. Forget the wine—it was nearly impossible to think straight with Yuffie's head nuzzled into his neck, biting and sucking at his skin, meanwhile _her skin_ was on fire, alive. He could feel her heat through her clothes and it spread into him like invisible tendrils, sneaking past his cloth uniform and attacking his body. He didn't necessarily _want_ Yuffie, then again he didn't _not_ want her either, and that was the most confusing part of all.

It was difficult. As Yuffie withdrew from his neck, he quickly inhaled as much air as he could, if only to reorient himself. She looked at Cloud as if he were something to be watched, studied, when suddenly, she tipped her head back and poured more wine into her mouth. Instead of swallowing it, however, she inched forward, giving Cloud every opportunity to push her away or turn his face…

…but he didn't. Cloud heard the bottle hit the floor before feeling Yuffie's hands on his face, tilting it up towards her. She watched his eyes flutter closed before pressing their lips together and parting his mouth beneath her own. Wine spilled onto Cloud's tongue and dripped down his chin and Yuffie's tongue tangled with his in the slightest of brushes—so gently he may have imagined it. Every single ounce of discipline left his body as Yuffie sighed into his mouth, bringing with it the quietest of moans—a near-moan that stiffened his entire body. He felt himself swell under her thighs and forced his hands to remain where they lay.

Yuffie lapped at the wine still wet on Cloud's mouth and hummed. "You're not going to touch me are you? Why is that?" She placed her palms on Cloud's chest and slid them down to his waist, where she fingered his belt's design.

"Is it that you truly don't want to? Or are you afraid that once you do, you won't be able to stop?"

Cloud's breathing accelerated as Yuffie's hands quickly and dexterously undid the clasp on his belt, yanking it aside with one, expert movement. He could feel the lust burning throughout his body, pooling in his chest and groin, thickening him from the inside out. It'd been so long since he'd been touched this way, wanted this way—Yuffie was right. Aerith and Tifa may want him, but they weren't doing anything to indicate so. Yuffie, as brazen and rash as she was, was making him feel desired in the most primal of ways. So, yes, perhaps he did not touch her if only to retain a modicum of self-respect, although Cloud knew deep in his heart that the urge to was there. He wanted to grab her, ravish her, release himself without question or fear of rejection.

And yet, he held still as Yuffie undid the tops of his pants. The most content of smiles was on her face, brightening it, and Cloud began to wonder why he'd never noticed Yuffie before. Not as a friend but as a _woman_ with sexual desires of her own. Now, the attraction, the want, was as plain as day.

The sharpness of her chin, the jagged indentations of her collar bones, the taut, muscled skin that covered her belly all radiated with a glorious aura—an aura of confidence. It practically seared through her eyes as she looked up to meet Cloud's heady gaze, and when she pulled him out of his pants, he inhaled, shocked at the intensity of pleasure her touch brought him.

"Out of curiosity," Yuffie said, her girlish voice pitched low. "Have Aerith or Tifa ever seen you like this?"

Cloud hesitated as she began to stroke him with her palm, circling him over and over with slow, steady movements. "No."

Yuffie suddenly halted all motion much to Cloud's dismay, and he nearly voiced his protests. Still, he held himself back, and Yuffie proceeded to straighten her body, shedding her shorts and underwear with a quick tug. She was naked from ribs to toes and Cloud's gaze raked over her impressive stature, lean and athletic as it was.

Yuffie positioned herself over Cloud, her hand in between them and squeezing lightly. "Geez. You sure do make them work for it, don't you?"

On the contrary—Cloud didn't think he made anyone work for anything. It was as Yuffie said: neither of the girls ever voiced their opinions or made it clear that they wanted him and only him. It was a cyclical dance they've been doing for months now. Everyone was so afraid of hurting the other person's feelings, including Cloud. Feelings…

Cloud pushed those thoughts out of his mind and braced himself. Yuffie grinned impishly at him, shadows from the room's lowlight transforming her face into a wicked visage. She sank slowly, pushing herself onto Cloud with excruciating consideration. He held his breath, not wanting to groan for her, to give her any indication that he was enjoying it as much as she thought he was, but he knew that Yuffie was smarter than that. She knew.

Filled to the brim, blood rushed into Yuffie's cheeks and she sighed, placing her hands back on Cloud's knees as she rolled her hips forward, grinding into him.

"I'll give you this, Cloud," she purred, clearly not holding _herself_ back, "You feel _great._ You're a little too sullen for my taste, but still, I can see what these girls have been missing. Your body is _perfect_."

Cloud winced, teeth worrying at his lower lip as she talked to him like that. It was one thing to enjoy the sex himself, but it was a whole other thing with Yuffie praising him. Each roll of her hips caused her muscles to flex around him. He was being massaged by hot, tight flesh _and_ exalted for doing the barest, most minimum work—he was just sitting there! And yet, with Yuffie riding him, it caused him to harden further inside her, jolting his body with an electricity he'd never known.

His hands twitched by his sides.

She was at his side in a moment, arms clasped around his neck once more, her red, plump lips at his ear.

"So, what do you think, Cloud? You feel great to me. Do _I_ feel great to you?"

Involuntarily, Cloud's hips rose up to meet Yuffie, and the sensation drew a gasp from his mouth. He squeezed his eyes shut. The thick, warm air, Yuffie's words, her body wrapped around him… it was all too much to process. He felt his mind waver, lose focus, and his hips began to rise all on their own, thrusting into Yuffie, slipping past her wetness and driving home.

Yuffie hummed out a breath of content and flicked her tongue across the shell of Cloud's ear. "Is that a yes?"

Cloud's mind, too fuzzy to control, betrayed him.

"Yes," he breathed.

His fingers uncurled, resting upon the padding of the loveseat.

"There's no shame in enjoying this," Yuffie whispered into the air. "You're not betraying anyone by being with me."

A half-truth. What about Cloud himself? What about betraying _his_ feelings?

Yuffie gave him little time to entertain these thoughts. She tensed, pulling Cloud's face towards her and plunging her tongue into his mouth. On instinct, Cloud retaliated, kissing her back with a ferocity that surprised even him, though he could feel Yuffie smiling. She still tasted of wine and sweetness, and she came down harder onto him even as he rose to meet her. They soon gasped for air, resorting to sucking it out of each other's throats while their bodies writhed and pushed together. The longer Cloud fucked Yuffie the more he could feel her body tighten inside. She clenched him just as her hands clenched his face, and Cloud surrendered a moan that formed in the steep of his chest. It was a primal sound and dark and spoke of need.

"Do it again," Yuffie said, her breathing ragged and uneven. She threw herself into another kiss, digging her knees into the loveseat's cushion as she ground Cloud down into the deepest parts of her.

Cloud wanted to—he wanted to shout from the very top of his lungs but he'd already surrendered too much. He felt himself surrounded by smooth, slick skin and bucked his hips up, brushing against a wall of flesh inside Yuffie that made her whimper. The sound of it nearly made him undone.

"Again," she demanded, her fingers tangling in his hair and pulling.

Cloud exhaled sharply at the pleasure-pain and almost laughed instead. "No." He pushed himself as deep as he could and met that wall again, the mass of tissue that caused Yuffie to mewl. She shivered, choking on a breath that stopped in her throat, and Cloud ceased all movement entirely. Lightning grew in the bottom of his belly and he needed air, needed to calm down.

Yuffie followed suit and sat atop him, her hands running through Cloud's thick waves. "Tell you what," she murmured, "Let's play a little game."

Cloud mustered the beginnings of a smile. This was so outlandish. What more could she want from him?

"Pretend that I'm either Tifa or Aerith. Your choice. And then maybe, just maybe, you'll be able to get into it."

The daze from Cloud's face dissolved instantly and he narrowed his eyes into slits. " _What_?"

Yuffie sighed, withdrawing a hand to push her own hair back. Cloud couldn't help but notice the sweat glistening to her skin. It made his mouth water.

"You heard me. Personally, I'd choose Aerith. I mean, you've had Tifa in the palm of your hand for over two decades and you've never made a move. Granted, Tifa has a better body," she said, an odd glint in her eyes, "But I'd be willing to bet _anything_ that you're in love with Aerith."

Lazily, she rolled herself over Cloud, who watched her bite her own lip. His gaze was immediately drawn downwards.

"Am I wrong?" she asked, pressing a kiss to his frozen mouth. "There's no harm in a little make-believe, Cloud. Go on. You won't hurt my feelings."

Yuffie rose up all the way off him before settling back down, knocking the wind out of Cloud. Exactly how was he supposed to make a decision while she teased him like this? Mechanically, he began to kiss her back, opening himself up to her tongue which slid along his lips.

"Besides," she cooed, breath filling his mouth, "Maybe I'll pretend too. Have you seen Vincent's _face_? The man looks like a god carved from the Planet itself. I wonder if _he'd_ be so unwilling to touch me. Even then… I doubt he'd feel like you, Cloud."

The breath left Cloud's lungs. She sapped him, stole away all the oxygen from his body like the thief she was until all he saw were stars. Stars, and something else. A face perhaps, shaped from the images Yuffie tempted him with. Could he really do what she asked? Was his imagination powerful enough to deceive his own mind? Maybe if he shut his eyes…

"That's it," Yuffie encouraged, "Think of her, and pretend."

Think of her. Cloud swallowed hard and closed his eyes as Yuffie—she—began rocking with him, gliding herself over his flesh in slow, calming strokes that enveloped him in everything warm and soft. He forced himself to reacquaint her body with his own; she was more pliant than he's imagined and yet somehow just as tight. It was like her body _wanted_ to devour Cloud's. With every lift and settle of her hips, she was welcoming him into her, trusting her most intimate self with Cloud who only wanted to be worthy of that trust.

Lips, soft and insistent, sought purchase with his mouth and he melted into them. This was so much easier than before. Before he was clashing with, fighting with, struggling with. Her kiss was so much more inviting, and Cloud could really _feel_ that she's wanted him just as badly as he's wanted her. He could feel that she loved him—the affection poured out of her throat and into him, mixing in with their tongues that lapped and danced with each other.

Yes, this was right. Cloud shifted upright, no longer reclining upon the back of the loveseat, and pressed his palms into her waist, guiding her up and down so that she fucked him the way he craved it most—wholly and completely. When Cloud heard her breathing halt, he pulled both hands through her soft, brown hair, and wrapped his biceps around her torso. He could feel her body tense with anticipation of her release, he thrust himself into her harder, more deeply, using his hold on her like a vice. Her jagged breaths turned into pleas—quiet, urgent cries for more, for more of him. For more of his body and hardness and sex, and if he could, he'd give the world to her. But that was not something he could do. This, however…

Holding her protectively, Cloud, in one fluid motion, slid them to the ground. A soft, plush rug met their burning skin and with eyes still closed, Cloud wound his arm around her before depositing her upon her back. He was still inside her but this angle was so much more freeing, and as she spread her legs even wider for him, Cloud's thrusts became more demanding.

"Say my name," Cloud rasped, his mouth seeking purchase upon her neck. She called for him over and over again, and Cloud moaned loudly, his deep voice echoing in the empty room. Still kissing her neck, he removed her hands from his back and brought them over above her head where he locked them into place with his own palms.

They laced their fingers together and Cloud had to stifle his own cries as she tensed around him, ushering herself into his relentless hips as he lurched into her like an ocean upon the shore. Because that's what she was and had always had been to him. The ocean. Powerful, beautiful, strong, ruthless when needed.

"Don't stop, Cloud," she begged him, to which he wanted to reply, _never_. Instead, he slowed himself, rolling his hips around in circles as he fucked her. He wanted her to feel every part of him as she came and vice versa. She squeezed him as she wrapped her legs around his waist, attempting to draw from him what he wanted to give her so badly but needed to be patient with.

He slowed even further, lifting and raising his hips to slide inside before circling around, making sure to stimulate every possible erogenous area. When she began to shake, he squeezed her hands in his to reassure her that she could let go with him, that he wanted her to, that it would make him happy after so long of only dreaming about it.

"Please," he breathed into her ear, "Come for me. I'm here. I've got you."

Cloud grinded inside her, positioning himself low so that every ounce of her flesh would be covered with his. As he pushed himself against her, he felt her tighten uncontrollably around him, strangling him with warmth and wet and flesh. His own gasp was drowned out by the sound of her soft cry—an insistent, triumphant noise which reached in between his legs and beckoned his own release with their musical fingers, massaging him just as her body called out for him.

He was almost afraid to let go; he never wanted this to end, but as she slipped her hands out from under his and pressed them to his bottom, he felt himself being pushed deeper into her, until he was clenched on all sides by muscled walls that overwhelmed him. The humming sound of her throat, the hands that pulled him further inside, the thought of spilling himself into her all devastated his senses and he felt the stirring of his hardness throb.

Cloud pushed his nose along the soft skin of her neck as he became rigid, and his mouth fell open as her ankles crossed behind his waist, milking him as if he were an animal. He lurched forward, groaning, his voice a high-pitched falsetto as she fucked him with her hips even as he came, riding him from beneath.

" _Tifa_ ," he cried, shuddering as she ground herself all over his hardness from within, forcing him back into the most swelled parts of herself where he felt his own wetness mix with hers. She never relented; she repeatedly arched her back for him, rolling all over him, eliciting dark, animalistic whines from the bottom of his throat as she continually bucked her flesh onto his.

If Cloud ever became soft, he didn't notice. It was over but then it wasn't, and she—Yuffie—still wanted him just like how he wanted her, and because of her insistence he knew she wanted more, more, more, and so he gave it to her. There was nothing soft about how he took her now.

This was between _them_.

Rough hands bruised Yuffie's flesh, roaming, scraping against every exposed part of her body as he slammed himself into her. She was much less quiet than before, goading Cloud on with erotic whimpers that set his skin ablaze. Cloud wrapped a hand around Yuffie's neck, fingers digging in lightly as she choked out a string of curses that sparked the lightning in him once more.

Cloud threw back his head and growled lowly, his face contorted in vicious, savage pleasure. "God, Yuffie," he grunted, releasing her throat in order to grab her waist. He pounded into her with a ruthless rhythm that rocked them both and paused only to feel every part of inside her, undulating himself in all directions so that she took him as much as she could.

"Ride me from below like you do. _Please_ ," he begged, his teeth gritted together.

Cloud halted all movement and watched with heavy eyes as Yuffie smirked up at him. Make-believe or not, they both knew she had won this round.

Yuffie raised herself to Cloud and began fucking herself on his flesh while he remained positioned on top of her. The mere sight of her writhing and shivering beneath him broke something within in, and he swooped down, ravishing her mouth with teeth and lips and tongue. Yuffie chuckled, the sound reverberating in Cloud's throat, and he held still while she pleasured him with her body. Just like he asked.

"Will you come again, Cloud? This time, for me?" she asked, voice dripping with sweetness. It didn't match her eyes—both bronze irises glowed with ruin and victory as he met her gaze. Now, she was playing with him.

And for some reason, Cloud couldn't have cared less.

He sank on top of her once more, pressing every inch of muscled body to hers, and slowly began rocking in and out of her, his chest piece scraping against her breasts through the cloth.

"You like to go slow when you finish," Yuffie murmured, both of her eyes feasting on the blueness of Cloud's. "Why is that?"

Cloud withdrew himself gently only to slam back into her. "Mmm," Yuffie sighed, her eyes squeezing closed. When she opened them again, Cloud was grinning down at her. Yuffie returned his grin with a wicked rendition of her own and slid her palms down his spine.

"This climax, you look at me, the whole, entire time."

Cloud, flushed with new blood, inhaled shakily and skimmed his hands up her crop-top, palming her breasts with each hand. "Why?"

Yuffie arched her chest further into Cloud's hands and grasped his hips. "Because this one is for me. No one else. And I want to savor every. second. of. it."

It was like before—Yuffie's words made his flesh throb with renewed desire. Squeezing the soft flesh between his fingers, Cloud nodded before bringing his hands to her face.

"As you wish," he muttered drily before kissing her deeply. Yuffie's hands returned to his bottom and pushed him deeper, causing a soft moan to spill out of Cloud's throat. "You keep doing that and I won't last for much longer."

Yuffie flicked her tongue against his and nipped at it. "That's the point."

Cloud breathed raggedly, sweat shining atop his forehead and neck. "Squeeze your legs around me."

Yuffie complied and the sensation was instant—he was bound, crushed, and held inside her, and as he thrusted, every fiber of her body kneaded him. Cloud hissed as he bit back a whine and winced, slowing his rhythm to a torturous pace.

"Now, say _my_ name," Yuffie said, eyes bright with interest.

Cloud ignored her and instead, pinned her hands above her head once more.

They regarded each other with intrigue; Cloud moved himself in and out of her, controlling the rising wave of his impending release while Yuffie simply smiled, her eyes narrowing with certainty. She squeezed him tighter than before.

To say it caught Cloud off-guard is an understatement. The rhythm of his hips hitched as her body forced his climax. He shouted, a surprised whine of noise as Yuffie, fucked herself on him just like before, sucking his body dry as he spilled himself over and over into her and she ground against him.

"Look at me," she insisted, and Cloud acquiesced, gazing deep into Yuffie's brown eyes. He shuddered once and reached down to meet his tongue with hers. He continued to shiver as she rode him while every drop of him was emptied, and he knew that if she didn't stop, neither would he and then _no one_ would get any sleep.

"Yuffie," he breathed before placing his hands on her shoulders and withdrawing himself. Cloud's face spasmed as the sensation of sucking flesh attacked him further, and he sat on his heels, collecting his breath before delicately putting himself back before fastening his belt over his pants again. Remembering her shorts, Cloud reached over towards the loveseat and retrieved them for her.

"Here," he said as he extended them towards Yuffie. A shy smirk tempted the corners of his lips.

She accepted the clothes—with a tired smile of her own—and shrugged them on even as she sat. The sound of their jingling equipment tinkled in the silent space between them, and finally, Cloud brought his gaze to her face, unsure of what he'd find there.

"Are… you okay?" he asked tentatively. What if he'd done something wrong? What if he'd hurt her feelings by pretending she was Tifa? Though, hadn't she asked for that? Still… in what universe was it okay to pretend your sexual partner was someone other than who they were?

But Yuffie only nodded. Her hair, sweaty and damp, clung to her neck and her skin even seemed to _glow_. Was that Cloud's doing?

"Very." And then Yuffie started giggling, her face bright, content, and flushed. "So… Tifa, huh?"

Cloud, utterly exposed, hung his head in embarrassment.

"I would have sworn it was Aerith."

Not that he owed her anything, and maybe it was all the chemicals running rampant in his brain, but Cloud felt oddly compelled to tell the truth. He shook out his hair, equally wet, and ran his fingers through the mounds of golden waves.

"I've always loved Tifa. What I feel for Aerith… I'm not exactly sure about it and it's confusing, but I do know how I feel about Tifa."

Yuffie rolled her eyes and crawled over to where Cloud sat. They eyed each other warily. "Men," she said with an air of disapproval. "You just want it all, don't you?"

"Hey," Cloud protested, his face furrowed in a frown, "You're the one who came on to _me_. I didn't go looking for this."

But Yuffie only waved away his response. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Still, how do you feel about it now?"

"I don't love you, Yuffie," Cloud said, his voice firm, but kind. Shock ran through him as her face dissolved into disgust.

"Ew, no, I didn't mean _that_. No offense, Cloud, but I don't love you either," she laughed, covering her mouth with her hands. "You're far too self-absorbed."

"And you aren't?"

"At least I know what I want in life."

"Which is?"

"Materia. Duh."

The answer was so ridiculous; Cloud couldn't help but succumb to laughter. Yuffie joined in and suddenly they were just two friends sharing a moment, nothing more, nothing less.

"If you meant about… _this_ …" Cloud then started, a tired chuckle still attached to his voice, "That was… I mean, you are… well. You are far too surprising. That's all I'll say about the matter. But, I suppose I should thank you, for remaining my friend despite it all. We…are still friends, right?"

Yuffie rolled her eyes again, but grinned. "Yes, Cloud."

"Good. I'm glad we met," he replied. "And not just because of this." He leaned over and pressed a sweet kiss to her damp forehead. Yuffie positively beamed.

"Aw, me too, Cloud. And can I just say, as long as you're running around _not_ making up your mind about Aerith and Tifa, just know that I'm available, 'kay?"

Even the thought of repeating tonight was dangerous and far too tempting to consider—Cloud mentally shoved her words away where he wouldn't be able to think of them again for the rest of the night. And hopefully—the rest of his life.

"I can read you like a book, you know. You want me," Yuffie said proudly. Her teeth flashed white as her mouth split into a vicious grin.

Cloud grumbled and clapped a hand over his face. "Leave me alone."

"All I'm saying is let me know. I feel like Vincent would turn into a gremlin and eat me the moment I tried to straddle _him_."

And for the first time in forever, Cloud erupted into a laughter that didn't stop.

"Okay," he choked out.


	2. Wutai (Part 1)

It'd been like their first night in Cosmo Canyon. Shocking, and filled with breathless devastation.

Except this time, Cloud was angry. Truly angry. In fact, he was _enraged_.

As Yuffie dashed away from him, every glittering materia in hand, Cloud fought back a yell—a shout of defiance. A wordless cry of betrayal. Instead, he muttered a long, black chain of obscenities, one after the other like bullets. He, along with the rest of the group, sprinted after Yuffie, expressions of tension, sadness, and irritability flashing across their faces.

It was Barrett and Cid who joined Cloud in his never-ending flame of profanities. Every monster they killed along the way—after it was clear that they were headed for Wutai—was savaged mercilessly. They didn't need materia for killing; they never needed it in the first place. But that wasn't the point.

"Did you know she was going to do something like this?" Tifa asked. She was winded from their chase, yet indignation still burned behind her burgundy eyes, smoldering them into hot coals. If Cloud hadn't been so irate, perhaps he would've planned to spare Yuffie from Tifa's wrath. He knew more than anyone how her words, never mind her fists, could cut like a knife. Yet, even still, he could think of nothing but of the tightness in his chest.

Cloud shook his head, spiky, blond hair whipping against his cheeks. "If I knew, wouldn't I have stopped her?"

Tifa, unable to argue with his logic, muttered noncommittally. "I know. It's just… we've all grown so close with her. You in particular, actually."

Racing thoughts suddenly tore into Cloud's mind—sweet, red wine on his lips, a thinly-padded loveseat, taut skin giving way under his hands. He shook his head, mentally banishing the thoughts away, though the echoes remained.

" _Yuffie, I'm glad we met."_

" _Aw, me too, Cloud."_

Idly, beyond the deafening footfalls and roar of each person's breath, Cloud remembered Cosmo Canyon. He remembered the color of her eyes—ochre, not brown, and their bodies writhing together with perfect synchronicity. He remembered all of the times they laughed, presumably over something ridiculous, and how his name sounded in her mouth as he moved inside her. Was materia—mere tools for battle—the reason for that night in the canyon? Was that why she came to him? _For_ him? Had he just been a pawn this entire time? Had he been used? Did all of everything comes down… to this?

Cloud remembered all of it.

He swallowed down vomit.


	3. Wutai (Part 2)

Cloud's fist smashed through the ceramic jug, knocking Yuffie to the ground.

"Ow!" she yelled, covering her face with her hands. "Okay, okay, relax! You got me. I won't run anymore."

Too enraged to speak, Cloud simply glared down, finding her ochre eyes with his. He visibly vibrated with tension and as Yuffie got to her feet, Aerith and Tifa exchanged worried glances behind them. Why was he so angry?

Yuffie frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'll take you to the materia if you want." She threw a pointed look at Cloud, who only stared back until she sighed, tossing her head back in annoyance.

"Good god, Cloud. Take a breather." Yuffie paused, but then a strange, curious smile touched her face. "Follow me if it pleases you."

And then she was off, shuffling the way they'd just come. Aerith and Tifa started off without complaint, but Cloud hesitated, so stiff in his movements that he momentarily forgot how to walk. He trailed behind the three girls, wanting to be closer in case Yuffie took off again, but needing to be as far away from her as physically possible. She was repulsive to him. The mere sight of her youthful face made him want to punch something again.

It was just as well; having all three girls near him in any scenario left him confused. There was Aerith—sweet, daring Aerith with her thick, silky braid and hasty mouth. There was something about her that was so… familiar, though, how could that be when they've only known each other a few months? Still, it was as if they've known each other for years. Aerith was honest and willful. Special. It wasn't just her Cetra blood either. It was… everything about her.

Tifa was… well, someone Cloud knew as well as he knew himself. He couldn't remember a time when he wasn't vying for her attention. Despite everything, the distance, SOLDIER, AVALANCHE, life kept pushing them back together and Cloud didn't know what to make of it. It was clear that Tifa loved him, but why wasn't she doing anything about it? Was it Aerith? Or did she doubt Cloud's feelings for her? After all, it wasn't as if Cloud had given her reason to be confident. The moment Tifa learned of Aerith was the first time he'd felt a rift come between them. Tifa, upon meeting her, had closed up like the sunset before the dark—becoming void and gone and unreachable. It made Cloud regret meeting Aerith at all, though at the same time, he couldn't bring himself to say goodbye to her. What did that say about his love for Tifa?

And then there was Yuffie. A brash, brazen girl who he'd practically had to trick into joining him. If there was anything that Cloud learned in his time with Shinra, it was that you never really knew a person until you fought them. During that first encounter with Yuffie, she'd cut Cloud with her shuriken, soaking his uniform with his own blood. It'd been sobering seeing himself that vulnerable. He hadn't felt that in a long time.

Not until Cosmo Canyon, that is.

Cloud's hands balled into fists at his sides as Yuffie led them deep into the basement of a house.

"Pull the left lever," she said, pouting her lower lip at him. A distant, hazy memory of him once biting it arose to the forefront of his mind. "That's where they're stored."

With teeth gritted together, Cloud strode over to the bizarre machine and quickly inspected it. Why would there be such a thing in this place? He looked it over, appraising it, searching for any sort of subterfuge that would only further entrap them. He spotted nothing. The left lever, she'd said.

Cloud pulled the right.

 _Thunk!_

"Hey!"

"Wait!"

Tifa and Aerith's shouts were loud in the small room, and Cloud, stunned at the shockwave of metal hitting the floor, turned around. A giant, steel box trapped them, seemingly dropped from… the ceiling? Did Yuffie put that there? And how?

"Yuffie!" he bellowed, face contorting in fury.

She stood at the other end of the room, hands on her slender hips. When they made eye contact, Cloud braced himself to attack, but was rendered useless when Yuffie shook out her hair and winked at him.

 _Winked_ at him.

"Bye, Cloud!" she said, a vicious grin stealing across her face. "Catch you later!"

Faster than lightning, she dashed up the stairs and out of the house. Silence fell shortly after her departure, and Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith all looked at each other. Speechless.

"Um," Aerith said, clearing her throat after several awkward minutes of nothing. "That was quite… something."

Tifa just looked annoyed. "Yuffie a lot smarter than we all think she is."

While Aerith nodded in agreement, nausea boiled to the top of Cloud's stomach once more.

"Ugh," he mumbled before putting his face in his hands.


	4. Wutai (Part 3)

If there was one person in the world Cloud would have paid to kill, it was Don Corneo.

Cloud sneered at the obese crime-lord with disgust tightening his facial features. Reno let the man dangle from the cliff, Don's fingertips turning white with the strain of holding on. The whole spectacle was satisfying to watch, but somehow, not enough. The greed and lust in Don's eyes as he'd leered at Yuffie made Cloud see red.

He wanted to castrate the man.

"Please," Don yelped, sweat beading on his brow. "Just let me live and I swear you'll never hear from me again."

Reno scoffed. He tossed his head back in a graceful arc and spat, the saliva landing on Don's weakening hands. "You're not important enough to kill," he said. Reno's voice was airy, like he didn't care one bit about anything happening, least of all Don's precarious circumstance. He spoke once more.

"Still, you've caused considerable trouble. And I'm just not sure the Turks can let that slide, Don."

Don's frantic gaze flickered to Cloud who wanted to recoil from such a connection. Don's eyes felt like slime he wanted to wash off. "Please, Cloud. I'm sorry! I didn't mean anything I've ever done to you or your friends. Don't let him kill me!"

Cloud folded his arms across his chest and looked to Reno. Reno merely shrugged, his face showing no indication that he was anything but bored.

"Shut up," was all Cloud said. He turned to Yuffie who still hung on the monument's side, arms and legs stretched out like she was being crucified. "Yuffie, are you okay?"

She _looked_ okay, if that was the word one could use. Rage flashed across her face; her mouth coiled into a nasty snarl as she watched Don continue to hold onto the cliff. "Get me _down_!" she ordered. Her hair and clothes were matted with sticky sweat. "I'll kill him myself!"

 _A fair deal_ , Cloud thought to himself. But he knew Reno well enough to know that Don's death would be his. From his periphery, Cloud saw one of Reno's feet lift from the ground. He then brought it hard on Don's hands, who howled with pain.

Cloud's gaze remained trained on Yuffie as she struggled against her bonds and felt an odd emotion settle in his stomach. He was still angry with her, but the danger of her kidnapping had given him some perspective. For a moment, Cloud's mind was filled with vile, evil thoughts of what Don intended to do to her and a new wave of fury rushed to his extremities.

"We'll get you down, Yuffie."

Cloud turned to the side, where Rude and the rest of the gang watched the procession take place. "Tifa, Aerith? Can you work on releasing her safely?"

Both of the girls nodded confidently, and they smiled at each other. "You got it," Tifa said. As she and Aerith began orchestrating Yuffie's release, Cloud motioned for Barrett, Cid, and Vincent to come closer.

"And you guys, can you get Elena?"

He cast a thoughtless glance at the blonde who hung beside Yuffie.

Elena rolled her eyes. "Oh, good. So I haven't been completely forgotten then."

"On it," Barrett muttered, and the three men shifted opposite Aerith and Tifa as they began to work on Elena.

Nanaki and Cait Sith shuffled closer towards Cloud. "Need anything from us?" Nanaki asked. His voice was a deep grumble.

Cloud frowned. "Can you keep the monsters off us until we're all good?"

Cait Sith jolted in offense. "Of course we can! What do you take us for? Imbeciles?" He opened his mouth to say more but Nanaki nipped at his white body, effectively shutting him up.

"Ow, what?!"

Nanaki growled lowly in his throat. "He was just _asking_. Now get moving before we're ambushed." He watched balefully as Cait Sith hopped back towards the path they came before turning towards Cloud.

"He's such an idiot."

Unexpectedly, Cloud laughed, the sound of it echoing off the mountain's edges. Nanaki made a pleased sound that rippled the air and chased after the cat, his red mane flowing gracefully in the wind. He would keep Cait Sith in line.

"Cloud."

Cloud's gaze snapped back to Reno, who gestured to Don with a slight bow of his head.

"Any last words for him?"

"No!" pleaded Don. His voice was ragged with effort. "Please!"

Reno sneered and ground his heel further into the back of Don's hands. Cloud padded close towards Reno, coming to stand beside him.

"Cloud! Help me!"

Words. Mere words.

Cloud, balancing his sword on the top of his back, kneeled, his face directly suspended before Corneo's blotchy visage. He opened his mouth slowly, took a breath, and whispered.

" _Burn_ , Don."

Terror only registered on the man's face for a moment before Reno kicked at Don's hands, causing them to slip and slide off the cliff entirely. As Don plummeted down, his screams exploded all around them, and Cloud walked away from Reno, a savage smirk on his lips.

Burn he would.


	5. Wutai (Part 4)

"Everyone, can you give Yuffie and me a minute alone?"

Cloud's voice was soft in the basement of the house Yuffie had trapped them in earlier that day, and surprise appeared on every companion's face—that is, except for Vincent's. He never really showed too much of… anything, really.

They'd all gathered there to vote on whether to let Yuffie rejoin the team or not. While they'd debated, Yuffie simply stood in the middle of the room and wore a blank, empty expression that didn't suit her. It was unclear of how she truly felt, fixed where she was, or what she was thinking. Angry, red blisters covered the span of her wrists and ankles—momentos of her kidnapping—but the rest of her seemed unharmed as she'd been safely lowered to the mountain's ground thanks to Aerith and Tifa.

Barrett was the first to vote. "Shit. I mean, she's useful and all and fun to be around, but how are we supposed to trust her after this? What do we do?"

Aerith nodded in agreement, but her eyes were warm when they landed on Yuffie. "She deserves a second chance! She didn't mean to do us harm. Yuffie just—"

"—Messed up," Tifa finished. Unlike Aerith, her face was stiff with irritation. When she looked at Yuffie, her cheeks seemed to blush with rage, yet when her gaze flashed to Cloud, the words she spoke were undeniable.

"She's a moron, Cloud. But she's got a good heart." Yuffie's scoff was audible and Tifa visibly tensed at the noise. She glared at Yuffie where she stood. "Well, you _are_."

Yuffie proceeded to brush invisible dirt off her arms and legs. "A moron? Or just incredibly misunderstood?"

Cloud expected Tifa to throw a punch—or two—but Tifa had simply laughed, all discomfort dissolving in the light her smile brought.

"She's got guts. I say she stays." The two girls shared an odd, hesitant grin before Cloud turned to the next person.

"Cid?"

Cid grumbled, his face reddening with anger. "Yuffie did some fucked up shit, for sure. I'm not sure she deserves to stay, but she knows too goddamn much to let her go, I suppose."

It was only at his words that Yuffie looked defeated, her shoulders sagging down along with the crestfallen grimace she sported. Her betrayal had been huge for all of them, but even more so to Cid, who'd come to think of her as a daughter in their short time together.

Yuffie opened her mouth, her eyes suddenly wide and glossed over with tears, but then she stopped, thinking better of it, and swallowed down whatever she was about to say to him. Cid completely avoided her gaze.

"Vincent?"

Vincent's dark hair lifted as he shrugged at Cloud. "It makes no difference to me."

Of course not. Vincent rarely voiced an opinion, so when he did, it was all the more serious. Still, Cloud wasn't surprised at his apathy and instead, gestured to Nanaki.

"In my hometown, betrayal is the worse thing a person can do to another," he grumbled. Nanaki's fur glowed crimson in the basement's candle light, and he looked more like a god to be worshipped than the altered creature he really was.

"I'm not sure where forgiveness fits into this scenario. It's up to you, Cloud."

"Hey!" yelled Cait Sith. "What about me?"

Cloud raised a single eyebrow. "What about you? What do you think?"

Cait Sith paused, a tiny, extended hand floating in mid-air as he seemingly formed an opinion on the spot.

"Eh, I'm with Vincent. I don't really care. I don't think she'll do it again, though, and she _is_ helpful."

"Typical," Tifa mumbled.

For several moments, it was completely silent, and Yuffie's mask of dispassion settled back onto her face as she rocked back and forth on her heels, awaiting the decision.

Cloud's nerves sang with anxiety as he stared at her, his eyes lingering on the raw wounds covering the ends of her limbs. "Yuffie," he said, "Do you even _want_ to come with us?"

Her rocking ceased, and Yuffie proudly raised her head, her chin jutting out with indignation. "I do."

That was when Cloud made his decision.

"Everyone, can you give Yuffie and me a minute alone?"

At his words, the atmosphere of the basement sparked and vibrated with suspense. One by one they filtered out of the room, some people casting Cloud wondering glances, while others shot Yuffie looks of both sympathy and aggravation. Only Tifa lingered, crossing the room to where Cloud stood. She laid a hand on his shoulder and peered up at his icy blue eyes with concern.

"Cloud, go easy on her." And then she'd squeezed her hand, the sensation striking Cloud like lightning until the branches of electricity reached his toes, where they fizzled out. Cloud swallowed down the little voice in his head that screamed at him to touch her back, and nodded. Tifa smiled at him. She also smiled at Yuffie, and exited the room with easy, measured strides.

When everyone was gone, Yuffie sighed deeply, planking her hands on her hips. "So, what it'll be Cloud? What's the verdict? Do you want me to beg or someth—"

Something sliced through the air like a knife and struck the right lever of the contraption at the back of the room—the same one he'd triggered earlier that'd captured Aerith and Tifa. As the steel cage descended to the ground, the glittering piece of materia Cloud had thrown clinked off the machine and rolled, coming to a standstill against one of the cage's bars. Yuffie flinched as she became surrounded by metal and shielded her face with her injured hands.

"We should talk," was all Cloud said. He stalked over to the materia and stashed it away in his pocket. He then made his way to the opposite side of the room, putting deliberate distance between him and Yuffie as she slowly uncovered herself. He stared at her with probing, reaching eyes.

 _Can't run now._

At first, shock was all Cloud saw on Yuffie's face, the color rapidly draining from her cheeks and neck. The surprise was soon replaced with anger, however, and then eventually, something like contentment. She looked… pleased, like a peacock strutting its rainbow feathers down a sidewalk.

"Using my own traps against me. Very nice," she chuckled. "Very smart."

Cloud unbuckled his massive buster sword and let it clash against the wooden floor. _Clink_. "I learn quickly."

Yuffie padded towards the farthest edge of the cage, putting even more distance between them, and leaned backwards into the metal.

"Oh, do you now?" she laughed. Her eyes were filled with mockery, glowing like two wicked imps meant to spurn and trick. "Not quick enough, apparently. Remember that I still stole from you."

Cloud's face tightened into a grimace. She looked so happy with herself, so complacent, like nothing wrong was done or no time was wasted playing idiotic games of tag and chase. Time that could have been spent hunting Sephiroth down and saving the Planet.

"Yeah. After all, you did tell me you'd strike when I was least expecting it."

Yuffie hummed, singing a mindless tune to herself. "Yes, at Cosmo Canyon, correct?" Further light blazed in her eyes like fire as she no doubt remembered the evening with crystal clarity, just as Cloud did.

Cloud stiffened in agreement… and nodded.

"Is that what this is about?" Yuffie asked, her face suddenly erupting with glee. "Are you upset that we had sex and then I _tricked_ you?"

He didn't reply, not wanting to verbalize his feelings to someone he clearly couldn't trust. It wasn't worth the effort. But then if he didn't, how was he supposed to let her come back? He was the one who'd wanted to talk after all. Everything that happened next depended on Yuffie's answers, savage as they may be. Ugh.

Nausea broiled in his stomach like poison.

Yuffie didn't help at all. She studied him like a predator, poking holes in his body with only her eyes. "It is, isn't it? Oh, man. Don't tell me you have _feelings_ for me, Cloud."

But Cloud simply stared back.

The air was disturbed by her next intake of breath, sharp as it was, though the mask of dawning confusion on her face was utterly and entirely sarcastic, no doubt. "Wait, seriously? Damn, Cloud. What would Aerith say? Or worse, _Tifa_?"

So this was how she wanted to play it. Cheap shot after cheap shot after cheap shot. Cloud was exhausted, both physically, but also mentally. He sank back against the wall and lowered himself so that he was sitting instead. The scraping noise the movement produced was calming, and the wood felt good against his spine and neck. He pressed himself further into it.

"I don't have _feelings_ for you, Yuffie," Cloud said, the fatigue slowing his voice, making it deeper than usual. "I just felt… weird. Used, maybe."

"Used," Yuffie repeated, her mouth carefully shaping the word. "You think I seduced you with the specific intent to steal from you later on, but then you didn't suspect me anymore because of how good in bed I was. Now you're confused is what you're saying."

Cloud's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits of anger. " _Yuffie."_

Yuffie threw her hands up in the air. "Okay, fine. You want the truth?"

"Yes." Obviously.

"The truth is," Yuffie began, "Is that I was always going to steal from you. The sex wasn't part of it, okay?"

She blew out a raspberry and proceeded to crack her knuckles, the sound like tiny, multiple gunshots in the quiet room. "Geez! Does that make you feel better, Cloud?"

No. No, it didn't. It only confused him further. Cloud's frown melted into a neutral expression, one that spoke of admission.

"Then why?"

"Why what?"

"Why have sex with me at all, if not to lower my guard and steal from me?"

"Because I wanted to," Yuffie said. She said this simply, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Even her eyes looked normal—no sign of subterfuge or mockery in sight. Cloud tried not to squirm under the intensity of the truth being revealed, and he held her eyes with his own.

Yuffie shrugged and slid her palms up her neck and into her hair, where she tossed it out. "You're seriously hot, Cloud, and I was curious about you. And like I said, at Cosmo Canyon, since no one else is going to do a damn thing about their _feelings_ or whatever they think they have that keeps all of you running around in circles—I wanted you. Not because I'm in love with you. I just wanted you."

Something lifted itself off Cloud's chest then, but something altogether pressed down upon it.

"You… wanted me. And… that was it? No ulterior motive?"

"You're not an alien, Cloud," Yuffie snapped. "You're attractive, and you and I have always gotten along. I didn't think it would be such a big deal if something were to happen. _Clearly_ I was wrong."

What was it about her words that disturbed him? Cloud's body was racing with adrenaline despite the fatigue, and his mind was racing even faster, thoughts boundless and rampant.

Love, lust, friendship, want, need, hope. Where did one begin and one end? He brought a hand to his forehead and attempted to rub the thoughts free from the confines of his skull, but it did nothing to soothe him. He ignored Yuffie's blatant stare—he could feel her looking at him—and tried to piece out what it is was that he was feeling.

"Listen, Cloud." Yuffie voice had changed, all the bitterness from it abruptly vanished. As Cloud looked up, her face was actually soft enough for him to see into it—her mask of condescension momentarily gone—and his heartbeat accelerated.

She spoke slowly, infusing every word with deliberate care.

"I'm not one of those people who equate sex and love, okay? Maybe you are, and maybe this is why it's so confusing for you. I mean, you're already confused to begin with because of Aerith and Tifa and all of that. The reality of the situation is this: I wanted you and you wanted me and that's all there was to it. You might feel guilty about what we did, I don't know. That might be part of it. But if you thought that there was more, I'm sorry. There just _isn't_."

"No!" Cloud blurted out, his head automatically shaking in disagreement. "That's not what I thought at all! I just thought…well, no. Ugh… I'm not good at this."

The room felt charged with fiery static as Yuffie's gaze continued to pierce through Cloud. "Evidently."

She, like him, also lowered herself to the ground, assembling herself cross-legged, though she winced as her bloodied flesh rubbed against each other. Pain lanced across her face and she shuddered, muttering an oath as her movement eventually settled.

Cloud's attention snapped to her wounds, and hot rage ignited in the pit of his stomach as he thought of Don.

"Are you okay?" he asked. But Yuffie only waved him off.

"I'm fine. It's nothing."

It wasn't nothing. Cloud made a mental note to get her to Aerith for healing later on.

That is… if things worked out.

Cloud's jaw tightened at the pace of his thoughts zooming through his head. "It's _not_ nothing. What Don planned for you… ugh. I couldn't stand the thought of it."

Yuffie huffed to herself, crossing her arms along with her legs. "You positive you don't love me? Because it sure seems like you do."

And he understood why. He felt transparent underneath her scrunity. But… no. Everything was so mixed up, and he didn't know how to make it better.

Cloud groaned, his brows furrowing in frustration. He clutched his head, his biceps flexing with the task of keeping everything inside it. "No, it's not like that!"

"Then tell me what it's like."

His gaze flashed to hers, clutching onto her ochre eyes. Even from across the room, he felt like he could see blue reflecting out of them. Like she saw him. Really saw him. Inspired, Cloud suddenly leaned forward, his hands pressing together on his lap.

"It's like this. You're my friend."

"Not if you love me, I'm not."

"Shut up for a second!"

Yuffie made the motion of zipping her lips, and Cloud had to stifle a smile.

"It's like I'm on the verge of going crazy _every single day_ ," he said, darkness touching his voice.

A shadow passed over Cloud's face Yuffie replied. "Like when you grab your head and collapse for no reason? Don't you hear voices too?"

His breathing grew shaky and unstable. "Yeah. And I don't know when or where or why, but I just know that I'm going to snap. I can't talk about it of course, because people will start to doubt me or be afraid of me. I don't know which would be worse. I can't… I can't admit anything to anyone or even let myself think about it for too long because it scares the shit out of me."

He drew in a sharp breath, though it only hitched inside his throat. Cloud growled deep in his chest.

"Something… inside me is… wrong. Malfunctioned. Or missing, I'm not sure which. But no one can see. No one can _see_ or they'd freak out. I can't tell Aerith or Tifa any of this—"

"—Why not?" Yuffie asked. "They both love you. They'd understand."

Cloud jerked his head back and forth. "No, I know. But it'd make them afraid or hurt them somehow or they'd spend all of their time worrying about me instead of focusing on Sephiroth."

"I hate to break it to you, Cloud, but they _already_ spend all of their time worrying about you."

Cloud glared at her.

"Okay, I'm sorry. Continue."

"Right," Cloud muttered.

He twined his fingers together, pressing down on the backs of his hands, and spoke. "My point is that none of this makes any sense: what's wrong with me… Aerith and Tifa. But you and I… we were friends. And it's like I didn't have to worry about what you thought about me, because it didn't matter."

"Oh, THANKS."

He knew it sounded bad as soon as he'd said it. Oops. Cloud could only shrug in supplication and smile.

"Sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

Yuffie glowered darkly. "Sure you didn't, you dick."

Cloud swallowed a laugh and pressed a calloused palm to his neck. "I _meant_ that I could be myself with you because you weren't in love with me or afraid of me or anything like that. It was…easy…in a way that it isn't with the others. You don't _expect_ anything of me."

The weight of his words settled onto his chest, and Cloud felt the shock of pain inside.

"You don't want me to be in love with you. You don't get hurt by things I say or do when I'm not careful enough. You don't follow me only because you wouldn't know how to lead. You don't eye me like I'm a prize that the next girl also wants. You're simply here, well, because you want to be."

Ashamed, he looked away from her then. "Or so I thought until…"

"Until I stole from you," Yuffie finished, her voice going flat.

Cloud continued to speak, his eyes faraway from hers. "The sex was just part of all that. With Aerith and Tifa, it's not about sex. And it's not about sex with you either. But the thing is, we _did_ have sex and it was…normal. Everything was fine. The world didn't break. _You didn't break._ You just wanted me. You gave me unashamed, unapologetic, want. I mean, you accepted me, quite literally—"

Yuffie snorted.

"—and I felt…"

"What, Cloud?"

"Safe."

"Safe," she echoed.

"Yes," Cloud said. Reluctantly, he shifted his eyes back up to her. "I felt safe with you. I mean, kind of. In a way. A weird, weird way. You do set me on edge because I always think you're about to take off with our money—"

"—a valid concern."

Cloud ignored her interruption. "But something inside me knew that I could just be myself with you and you wouldn't care. What I do doesn't matter to you either, right? So when you left… when you stole all of the materia…" he loudly sighed into the air and closed his eyes.

"It felt like you stole that from me too."

Silence—hot and thick—stormed into the room.

Cloud felt embarrassed. What he said was true, but saying it, making his mouth form the words… it all felt different actually coming out of him. It made him feel vulnerable. Soft. Squishy. Like she could cut him in half if she wanted to. And it _wasn't_ because he was in love with her. It was because she was his best friend.

His best friend.

Wow… how did that happen? And without him even realizing it?

"MEN!" Yuffie suddenly screamed, her chirpy voice cracking with strain.

Huh? Cloud's gaze re-focused on Yuffie in front of him, and she was shaking her head to herself, brown hair swinging from cheek to cheek, side to side. She looked as if she was warding off something evil.

"Yuffie?"

"Men, I tell you. Men." she mumbled, annoyance tinging her voice. "They don't tell you anything about their feelings and then suddenly it's _your_ fault when you step on them."

"What?"

Yuffie's eyes, quick as lightning, darted to where he sat. She leaned forward, her knees pushing into the carpeted ground, and regarded him sternly, as if he was a dumb student who refused to learn his lesson.

"Cloud, if I had any idea that you felt that way, I wouldn't have come to you that night."

Cloud's eyebrows sailed to the top of his forehead. "You wouldn't have?"

"No!" Yuffie yelled, her face flushing red. "I may be a thief but I'm not _evil_. I didn't put you inside me to mess with your head." Cloud tried not to wince at her wording, but failed. Yuffie ignored this.

"You _idiot_. You're my friend too. Yes, I was always going to steal from you. I won't deny that. It's kind of how I was raised. And it's fun, actually."

"You're a punk. You know that?"

"But," Yuffie continued, scorching him with her frown, "It was never my intention to make you feel good and then _ruin_ you. God! You act so tough all the time; how was I supposed to know that you were relying on me?"

Her words were made sense. They were logical and sensible and made him feel… like an insect. Suddenly, all Cloud wanted to do was die. Just shrivel up and die on the carpet. He resisted the urge to put his face in his hands and instead moaned miserably, the tension he felt expelling out into the air.

"I don't know! Don't girls just… _know_ these things?"

Yuffie sank backwards, onto her heels, and raised her face to the ceiling. "MEN!"

"Stop saying that!"

"Then stop being stupid! Girls are smart, yeah, and I'm _definitely_ smarter than the lot of men you let follow you around. But we're not _mind-readers_! If you feel something about someone then you tell them! God, you're just like Aerith and Tifa. You never actually say _anything_ about what you want or how you feel." Yuffie nearly panted with anger, her ears and neck glowing a dull red.

"For God's sake. From day _one_ I told you I was going to steal from you. Yeah, I might have been a jerk, and I might have hurt you, but at least I was honest! And from the beginning, too!"

Cloud mumbled something into the floor.

"Hey! Speak up for the rest of us to hear!"

"I didn't want you to think I was weird!" he shouted. Yuffie clenched her jaw, eyes blazing with irritation. Cloud continued on.

"So, what? I should have sat you down and told you, 'Hey, Yuffie, you know what? Wow, you just really make me feel so safe and relaxed when I'm around you. _Thank_ you. Also, us having sex only made me feel more secure in our friendship because wow, you really proved that you accept me as a person even though I'm pretty sure I'm crazy all because you moaned my name into my mouth and didn't cry when I told you that I didn't love you.'"

Yuffie, chest still rapidly moving up and down, scoffed at him. "Okay, fine. That would have been ridiculous. I absolutely would have laughed at you."

" _See_?"

"Ugh!"

Cloud bowed his head to the floor, utterly depleted. "Yeah."

Maybe it was seconds, or minutes, but Yuffie, as always, was waiting for Cloud when he was ready to meet her eyes again. Except hers were scathing with something hot and fiery that turned them into muddy lava. He didn't know what he looked like—maybe something pathetic and easy to play with.

"Well, I'm glad you don't love me," she said, voice slow and begrudging. "Because you are _far_ too insecure for me to deal with. You're like a fricking flower underneath all of your SOLDIER, buff-muscled bullshit."

Cloud—despite the insult—laughed lowly, his throat releasing crusty tension in the process. "Only because of Sephiroth. I'm so tired all the time… I'm so afraid of messing up, because if I mess up, then so do you guys," he murmured, eyes downcast. "I suppose that makes me weak, doesn't it."

Yuffie paused, raking her eyes up and down Cloud's pale face. "You're only weak if you define yourself that way, Cloud."

Her words… they were the first of hers to soothe him. Cloud attempted to smile.

"I was so mad at you when you ran. _So_ mad at you. But Don… when he took you…" Cloud shuddered, the gesture racking his shoulders.

"It's too easy to imagine what could have happened if I wasn't fast enough. You're my friend, Yuffie, and I…"

He held out his hands and beckoned at her. "Just want you to _survive_ this. You know? Sephiroth is dangerous—more than you care to believe, I know—and if I couldn't keep Don from taking you, what good is that? What good is my friendship if I can't protect you?"

Exhaling deeply, Cloud steadily got to his feet and walked over to the trap mechanism. He grasped the right level and yanked on it, causing the steel cage around Yuffie to ascend into the ceiling once more. What expert craftsmanship.

Yuffie, still kneeling on the carpet, stared blankly at the floor. It looked like she was thinking, but he couldn't be sure. Cloud walked over to her, carefully, and held out a hand. After several seconds of deliberation, Yuffie, still blank-faced, put her palm in his and gently, so as not to offend the wounds, let him pull her up. She lingered on the raw, blistered skin and set her teeth together before speaking.

"That's exactly your problem, Cloud. You want to protect everyone… but you can't. You never will."

It was as if she slapped him. Cloud recoiled slightly away from her, the muscles in his jaw working quickly. "Still… I have to try. I owe you guys that."

Yuffie squeezed their still-linked hands together and yanked his arm down with a savage jerk. "No, Cloud. You owe us _nothing_. You owe us to do your best and we owe you that in return. Everything else is because we want to and agree upon it. This hero-complex of yours is _insane_ and will only get more of us hurt in the process."

"Yuffie—"

"I don't care what idiotic promises you've already made to Tifa or whoever else," she spat, her voice tightening with disgust. Yuffie darted forward and grabbed his face in her hands, pressing her palms against his cheeks. " _Listen to me_."

Cloud's instinct was to remove himself, to knock away her hands, but as he brought his arms up to defend himself, he remembered her wrists and froze. Nothing was left to do but acquiesce to her approaching lecture, and he grit his teeth, swallowing away the command to release him.

"Cloud," she said, face tense with anxiety. "The next time someone comes for me, or Aerith, or Tifa, or Nanaki, or Cid, or whoever—because you know it'll happen again—you take a deep breath, and you do your best. That's it. Okay? You do your best to make things better and trust that all of us can take care of ourselves." She pressed her hands further into his face, fingertips digging into his jaw.

"It is not your job to save us. It is _not_ your job to save us. Do you hear me?"

Cloud, glaring at her with resentful eyes, nodded stiffly underneath her hold on him.

"There is a difference between wanting to help your friends and forcefully inserting yourself into their lives as their savior. That is _not_ your responsibility. Do not try to be god. Just. Be. Cloud. And if you don't know who that is yet…" Yuffie let go of Cloud just as quickly as she'd grabbed him. Stunned, he blinked at her dazedly, whiplashed by the sudden shift of their postures.

"If you feel like you're forgetting who you are, Cloud. Just _ask_ us. Ask your friends, and we will help you remember. It's as simple as that."

Could it really be that simple? Was that really all it took? A friendly voice, a gentle touch, to remind him of who he really was? Cloud closed his eyes, too embarrassed to look at her and too ashamed to want to. He felt like an infant being scolded by his parent. Still, what she said resonated with something inside him, like dandelion seeds rooting into the ground after being scattered and displaced from their homes by the wind. The words sank into his bones and tangled with his blood, healing it. Making it… new.

Moments passed by in sun-hot silence but Cloud knew that if he responded, he would taint whatever good her words had brought him, and he didn't want that. This was Yuffie, not Aerith or Tifa, and he knew better than to think she'd ever hold back from lecturing him again and again until her voice stopped working. The right thing to do right now… was just let it go. He wasn't sure if he believed her or if she was right, but some part of all this rang true, quieting the maelstrom of thoughts inside his head.

Cloud nodded sullenly, his tongue working over the front of his teeth in careful strokes.

"Why did you need all of that materia anyway?" he asked, his voice a soft melody in the basement. Anything to change the subject.

Yuffie swallowed hard, her impassive eyes sliding all over his face, searching for answers he plainly couldn't give her at this moment in time. She seemed to sense—and accept—this, however.

"Wutai… was ravaged in the war. I just wanted to make it better. Show the world that we didn't lie down and die like Shinra told us to. We shouldn't be a tourist attraction. We are so much more than that," she said quietly, "Or rather… we used to be. I thought materia could help bolster our reputation. Maybe it still could. I don't know."

Cloud nodded, lines blackening around his eyes and mouth. "I understand. When Sephiroth burned Nibelheim to the ground, I didn't know what to do. Or who I was anymore. Still, it was wrong of you to leave us like that. You didn't just hurt me… you hurt everyone else too. You made them feel like they were _nothing_ to you."

Yuffie huffed audibly. "Cid…"

Cloud agreed. "Yeah. Cid."

"Do you think he'll forgive me?"

"I think… if you buy him a pint and let him cuss you out, you stand a pretty good chance."

Yuffie's mouth abruptly cracked open in a wondrous smile despite the heavy atmosphere still lingering in the air.

"Tifa seems to like me okay. After all, she did tell you to go easy on me."

"I think she really admires you, actually," Cloud said, his chest loosening bit by bit. "Tifa would do anything for Midgar just like you would for Wutai. I think… I think that she sees herself in some parts of you."

Yuffie deliberated on this for a moment and chewed the inside of her cheek. "Tifa's tough. She's tougher than people give her credit for. So is Aerith." When Cloud's smile froze at her name, Yuffie rolled her eyes to the ceiling.

"You could do worse than the both of them, Cloud."

Cloud sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, blush rising to the paleness of his face.

"I still don't know what to do about them."

Running her hands through her hair, Yuffie smirked, her fingertips massaging the top of her scalp. "Well, you don't have to. You have some time, right? You all still look like idiots to me, but, I'm not involved."

"You're the idiot who got herself kidnapped today, so I'd take it easy on the rest of us."

Yuffie squealed in delight, her eyes widening into huge pools of ochre—the color of aged wood. "Ouch! Touche, my friend! I suppose you're not completely squishy after all."

"Me?" Cloud said, "Squishy? Please." He grinned, the gesture obliterating all of the stress from his face, making it radiant and new.

"That's not how it was five minutes ago when you were confessing your entire life out to me," Yuffie replied, triumph written across her features. "Also, I believe that you owe me a materia."

"I owe you a _what_?"

Yuffie held out her hand, palm upturned and waiting. Her teeth flashed white as she smiled at him. "A materia. After all, I'm the one who makes you feel safe. And the pep talk I just gave you was _killer._ I think that that deserves some kind of reward, no?"

Cloud sneered at her, his grin fading as incredulousness replaced it. "Are you kidding me? Isn't being let back on the team reward enough?"

Yuffie only motioned with her fingers, curling them inwards, her face still beaming with pleasure. "If my friendship really means that little to you, Cloud—"

"Oh, God, _okay_ ," Cloud grumbled. He narrowed his eyes at her and frowned, which in turn only brightened the brilliance of her grin. "Maybe if I give you one you'll leave the others alone and we won't ever have to worry about you taking off again."

"May-be," Yuffie sang. She wiggled her dark eyebrows at him and beckoned with her fingers again.

Cloud groaned, a noise of displeasure stirring the air between them. It was just like her to milk the situation for everything she could. Still, the look on her face made him want to smile. She was so ridiculous.

"Which one do you want?" he asked, his eyebrows lowered in suspicion. If she asked for any of the summons, she could forget it. He'd walk away right there and then.

"I want Comet."

That's it? "Comet, eh?" Cloud reached into his pocket and pulled out the same glittering materia he'd thrown at the machine to trap Yuffie with. "Are you sure?"

Yuffie gasped and lurched forward to seize it. "Gimme!"

Cloud let her yank the orb from his hand and watched how hungry her eyes grew as she held the emerald materia to her face.

"You're a literal freak, Yuffie."

She stuck her tongue out at him in response and pocketed the materia in her belt. "Whatever. At least I'm a freak with Comet. Earth and Ice was getting boring."

Yuffie turned on her heel to leave, but before she could climb the staircase out of the basement, Cloud darted forward and grasped her elbow.

"Wait!"

Yuffie started, her eyes flickering to Cloud's in alarm. "What? I won't steal from you again, I promise."

While that made him warm to hear, Cloud shook his head and peered down at her, finding purchase deep within her eyes where she could see that he meant what he was about to say.

"Yuffie, if we beat Sephiroth… if we somehow make it out of this alive, I swear to you. You can take all the materia you want if you believe it will help Wutai. You can have it _all_ , if you need it."

Her mouth slackened with the weight of his words, and Yuffie's next inhale was sharp and pointed, like it hurt her. "You mean it?" she asked, tears suddenly wetting her eyes. She looked startling small; she looked like a child. "You'd do that for me after everything I did?"

Cloud nodded his head yes.

For a moment, all they did was stare at each other. But then Yuffie, throat thick with emotion, choked on a breath and threw her arms around Cloud's neck, knocking him unsteady.

"Thank you," she whispered into his shoulder. She buried her face into it quickly, and Cloud felt her tears on his skin, hot and glossy. "Thank you."

It was nothing, Cloud thought. Just a simple kindness, because he understood. Materia could be replaced.

Yuffie and her hometown, could not.

All of the day's dread evaporated from his stomach as he wrapped his arms around Yuffie's waist, and he squeezed her to him. She was warm and sturdy, just like Cosmo Canyon, but this time the way he held her was real. He held his best friend, his partner in crime. And she held him back just the same, shaking slightly in his arms as she caught her breath again.

"You're welcome, Yuffie."


	6. Kisses and Buster Swords

**A/N: This chapter is a prelude to the first! Gotta build that relationship for the slow burn, heh. Also, Nanaki is called Red XIII here because Yuffie just met him and they haven't been to Cosmo Canyon yet.**

The wound on her side was small but deep, oozing blood out of its caverns relentlessly, like a stubborn mule, for more than… twenty minutes now.

It hurt like a bitch, too.

"Son of a," Yuffie muttered, wincing as she poked and prodded at the injury. "Stupid, flying, fish… thing. Seriously, what fish _hovers_ in mid-air? _What_? When I joined your guys's team did I accidentally enter some alternate universe where fish fly and birds swim? I know we see some messed up monsters around here and all, but just, wow."

Yuffie, Aerith, Tifa, and Red XIII (supposedly that was his name) all lounged inside the biggest suite Junon's inn had to offer—which wasn't very big at all. There were two beds in this suite complete with an old wooden dresser. There were also single beds in two other consecutive suites, so by random draw, Yuffie and the other three all agreed to be in this one. Yuffie and Tifa would share a bed.

"Stop picking at it," Aerith scolded, shooting Yuffie a cold glance from across the room. She sat on one of the beds while Yuffie occupied the other; Tifa rested in an old, run-down arm chair in the corner of the room while Red XIII stretched out next to her, his grumbly breaths long and deep as he slept.

Tifa watched Aerith and Yuffie exchange bewildering glances at each other and rolled her eyes at the pair—Yuffie was so new to the team and had yet to fully ingratiate herself to the others, but Tifa suspected that Aerith was just a tad miffed that she wasn't the new girl anymore. Then again, she did just escape a biological torture chamber where Hojo planned to do God-knows-what to her Cetra genetics.

Both excuses worked, really.

"Where's Cloud and Barrett?" Tifa complained, winding her hands through her long, lustrous hair. "I thought they went to check on Priscilla. Shouldn't they be back by now?"

With a gruff sigh, Aerith bounded off her bed and climbed atop Yuffie, startling the poor girl who yanked herself away from Aerith's prying hands.

"Hey, get away!"

Aerith swatted at Yuffie's defending hands and leaned closer to her, craning her neck to get a better view of the cut on her ribs.

"Hold still! I can heal it if you'd stop moving around. You're being absurd." Her braid whipped around like a soft lancet as she and Yuffie danced around each other awkwardly, arms and legs tangled together in one piled mass. Yuffie's face tensed into a thin sneer.

"If you think I'm so _absurd_ then I don't want you to heal it! Now get away!" She slapped her hands at Aerith again, making contact with one of her outstretched arms.

Aerith, out of breath, sank back on her heels and glared at Yuffie bitterly. "You _are_ absurd. Let me help you!"

A moan trickled out of Red XIII's jaws, and his mouth opened up, revealing an impressive display of razor sharp teeth before he sniffed loud enough for the two girls to pause and quiet their squawking.

"Ladies, please, _some_ of us are trying to get some rest. Tifa?"

Tifa, peering down at Red XIII, grinned amusedly and fanned out the hair she'd been playing with. "All right, you two. Enough. You're causing a ruckus. Aerith, be nicer to Yuffie. Yuffie, shut up and let Aerith heal you. There is a reason she has that particular materia. She's _good_ at it."

In the quiet interim followed by her command, Aerith and Yuffie eyed each other warily, eyes raking up and down each other's faces, inspecting, searching, judging. Aerith was the first to relent, blood rushing to her cheeks as she swallowed down whatever she'd really wanted to say.

"I'm sorry I… called you absurd. I was only trying to help. Now will you please let me heal you?"

Yuffie glanced at Red XIII, then Tifa, then back at Aerith, who raised her eyebrows in further demand.

"Oh, all right," she huffed, shifting her body closer to where Aerith sat. "By all means, have at it."

Aerith's jaw worked like she wanted to say something but thought better of it. As Yuffie raised herself up, putting her weight on her knees, she let her hands fall to her sides as she leaned, baring the expanse of the torn flesh to Aerith who inspected it carefully, first with her eyes, then with her hands.

"I'll be as gentle as possible, I promise," she murmured before placing delicate fingertips on the flesh around the cut. Yuffie's face softened considerably after that, and she glanced at Tifa who only encouraged her with a wide smile as if to say, _see? She's not so bad._

Yuffie winced at Aerith's warm touch but then forced herself to relax, and suddenly, bright green light flashed throughout the room as Aerith focused the materia's power through her hands. Covering the wound with her palms, Aerith bit her lip, guiding the Cure into Yuffie's skin as tenderly as possible.

"Agh, it's itchy," Yuffie complained, her eyes shut against the powerful light Cure emanated.

Aerith hummed in agreement, staring directly into the illumination with direct, studious eyes. The green light only amplified the emerald in hers, making her irises into two, melted gemstones. "That's the skin knitting back together. Almost done."

While Red XIII presumably went back to sleep, Tifa gazed out the window her chair sat by, lifting her gaze to the millions of stars that glowed in the sky. "Seriously, where is Cloud and Barrett?" She looked towards the heavens as if they would hand-deliver her an answer. It wasn't that she was worried for their safety, but after Hojo's lab, everything's felt scarier, more real. It was better to know where her friends were than to sit around and idly wonder. Not that Cloud and Barrett couldn't take care of themselves, either. But still, the thought of Cloud in any danger…

She forced the thought away and rose from her chair. "I'm going to check on them."

However, Red XIII as it turned out, was not asleep. "Don't bother. Cloud mentioned something about stocking up on supplies after Priscilla. Barrett wanted to talk to the townsfolk. See what they know about Shinra and Rufus's next move."

Tifa, at a loss, sank back down into the recliner. "Oh. I suppose that makes sense."

When Cure's light finally faded, Aerith slowly pulled herself back from Yuffie, extricating her hands, now covered in fresh blood. "I do hope Priscilla is okay," she said, frowning at the slickness on her fingers. "It was a little too close of a call for comfort. We were lucky that Cloud knew how to perform CPR."

Tifa pretended not to notice the admiration in her voice as Aerith uttered Cloud's name. She assumed she only noticed because she was sure that it was the same way _she_ sounded when she spoke about him too. Nothing about _that_ situation had been easy to deal with, among their other troubles.

Yuffie, newly healed, pressed down on where the cut used to be and grinned wildly in surprise. "Whoa! I mean, I've heard of Cure before but never have actually seen it in action." She poked her side with a single fingertip and glanced at Aerith, who still stared at her stained hands as if she didn't know what to do with them. Yuffie nodded at her.

"I'm on it!" she chirped, bounding off the bed and strutting out of the room with confident, thumpy footsteps. Aerith turned to Tifa who shrugged, and the two girls remained silent until Yuffie stormed back into their suite with a damp, medium-sized handcloth. She tossed it to Aerith who caught it on reflex.

"By the way," Yuffie said, climbing back atop her bed. Aerith, smiling hesitantly, moved back on to hers and began scrubbing the blood off her palms with the washcloth. "Did you notice how awkward Cloud was with the whole CPR thing? It was only a close call because he took so long to do it."

"What do you mean?" Tifa asked, her brows furrowing in confusion, "I thought he did fine."

"Yeah," Aerith added. "Me too."

Yuffie snorted, her eyes rolling to the ceiling and almost out of their own sockets. "Oh, please. Cloud hesitated for a good ten seconds before you all pressured him into it. Did you see how reluctant he was? It was like watching a little boy being touched by a girl and then screaming, 'Ew! Cooties!' Like he might contract an illness if he comes in contact with anyone of the opposite sex or something."

She sprawled out on the bed, spreading her arms and legs across the span of the small mattress. "I bet that guy has never had a girlfriend in his _life_. He'd probably shrivel up and die if any female were to actually kiss him." Yuffie then laughed at her own joke before a deep, gravelly bass pervaded the air around them.

"What was that?" she asked, springing upwards into a crouch. The noise thundered again and Yuffie wormed her way to the end of the bed so that she gawked down at Red XIII, who still had his eyes closed, but visibly vibrated with laughter.

"Are you… _laughing_?" she asked, glee brightening her eyes and face. "Is that what you sound like when you laugh? Cool!" Yuffie's gaze flickered to Tifa and Aerith who looked shell-shocked at the whole situation, but Yuffie didn't care.

"You guys, I made him laugh!"

Red XIII's bass voice rumbled again, and he yawned once more, the candle light of the room glinting off each exposed incisor.

"The mental image of someone kissing Cloud did me in. I think you're right, Yuffie. I think he wouldn't know what to do. Maybe he'd faint, I don't know."

Yuffie beamed and she cupped her hands beneath her chin as Red XIII continued his strange, animalistic chuckle.

"I bet you 100 gil that the next time someone kisses Cloud, he runs away crying."

Red XIII's eyes sleepily flashed open and he nodded before shaking out the fine strands of his mane.

"Deal."

Yuffie and Red XIII continued to laugh for several more moments until the joked died off. When it did, Yuffie returned to the top side of the bed where she crawled underneath the old, stale covers. She slid off her headband—allowing her hair to fall freely into her face—and placed it on the wooden table in between the beds.

"What's the matter, Tifa, Aerith?" she chuckled before glancing at them. Each girl was quiet, their eyes downcast, studying everything else but Yuffie as if the floor and the bloodied washcloth were the most interesting objects in the entire world.

"Guys? He-ll-o? Did I offend you guys or something?"

Yuffie's smile faltered for just the quickest of instances, and her searching gaze flickered back and forth between the two girls, who refused to meet her eyes. Realization—slow, soft, and fragile—bloomed inside Yuffie's head then as her alternating gazes slowed, scrutinizing just how uncomfortable each girl looked—had looked, for several minutes now.

"Oh," Yuffie breathed, sinking back into the headboard of the bed. "I see. Oops."

Red XIII laughed again but made no effort to comment.

"You see what?" Aerith suddenly asked, her face bright and interested. No… there was too much tension around her eyes for her to be as cheery as she seemed. Yuffie smiled to herself.

"Oh, nothing. What do I know? I'm just a lowly thief, helping you rag-tag team of bozos save the rest of the world. No offense."

Tifa shifted in her chair, her eyes dark and unreadable. "None taken. We do make quite a mess of things at times. Right, Aerith?"

Aerith's face paled as she turned to face Tifa, but regardless, she nodded in agreement. "Yes, we do."

Something hardened in her eyes as she scraped the last remaining drops of blood from her hands and tossed the cloth to the floor. Aerith, like Yuffie, began to nestle herself under the covers of the bed, though she sat propped up against the headboard and wall as small talk—nothing about Cloud of course—resumed.

"Have you always fought with a shiruken?" Tifa asked Yuffie. Yuffie grinned happily in response at the question, perking up with an answer.

"Nah. I've tried my hands at several weapons. Throwing knives were one. I was good at—like, really good—that but replacing them is too expensive. I tried a whip, too, but only ended up cutting myself in the process." She shuddered in remembrance, and Aerith's face warmed as a shy smile lifted the corners of her mouth up.

"Anything else?" she chimed in.

Yuffie thought for a moment, her thin, delicate chin jutting out. "Nunchucks. Geez, what a stupid weapon. I mean you look stupid just flailing them around in the first place. Plus, you're more likely to hit yourself than your actual target. No thank you. I mean, just imagine if I'd fought you guys with nunchucks and knocked myself out during the battle. That would have _really_ convinced you to let me join."

Tifa's subsequent laugh racked her shoulders, and for a moment, she forgot herself, eyes once again alight with mirth. "No swords? Daggers? Anything of that sort?"

"Have you seen me?" Yuffie replied, stretching out her arms and inducing to the rest of her blanket-covered figure. "Every sword I know is about the same height as me. Can you honestly see me dragging that thing around everywhere I go? I'm strong, don't get me wrong, but I'm not Cloud. Which, by the way, what is up with _his_ sword? Why is it three times his size? Is he compensating for something? Or is he deliberately just trying to be obnoxious?"

At this, laughter from all three of the companions exploded like musical, delightful cannons all around the room. Yuffie, startled by their reactions, at first didn't smile, but as they continued to laugh—Tifa even clutched her stomach—she joined with them, her chest seizing up and down as the giggles ripped through her.

"I've wondered that myself," Red XIII barked out, his fur bristling with snickers. "It really does seem… ridiculous, doesn't it."

Tifa doubled over in her chair, arms wrapped tight around her midriff as spasm after spasm of laughter ravaged her body. "Don't tell him that," she choked out.

"He'll feel insecure about it," Aerith finished, her hands wiping tears away from her eyes.

It seemed like they would laugh forever, but eventually, with time, their giggles reduced themselves to chuckles, and finally, they were able to breathe normally. Though, every once in awhile, someone would start up again causing everyone else to do the same, but no one complained.

"God, I'm tired," Tifa mumbled, stifling a yawn with her fist. She dragged herself to all the lamps in the suite before shutting them off. Complete darkness enveloped them like a blanket, and Tifa shuffled to the edge of the bed Yuffie laid on and motioned for her to scoot over. Yuffie, seeing her shadow, stuck her tongue out and promptly moved to her side of the mattress.

Aerith watched the procession take place with heavily-lidded eyes. She nodded, her face slack with fatigue. "Mhm. Me too. Red, come on before I take up the whole bed and don't leave any room for you."

She blinked slowly as Tifa settled in beside Yuffie, their brown hair mixing in with each other in lovely shades of brown, burgundy, and black.

"I'm fine down here, Aerith. But thank you."

Aerith's mouth scrunched up in displeasure. "I'm not letting you sleep on the floor, Red. Come on up." She patted the space beside her.

"Really, I'm good."

"What if I get cold?" she whined. Tifa and Yuffie smiled quietly to themselves.

Red XIII's head lifted, and he regarded Aerith with narrowed eyes that crinkled at the corners.

"I am _not_ a space-heater."

But Aerith only persisted, her arms raising and extending towards Red on the ground. "Please? It'll make me feel bad if you stay down there. I won't be able to sleep."

"Yeah!" Yuffie suddenly chimed in. "Then tomorrow, when we fight Shinra, Aerith will be distracted by her tiredness and DIE. And it'll be all your fault, Red! Better do as she says. We can't let the last… uh… what is it called, Tifa—"

"—Cetra"

"Yeah! We can't let the last Cetra die just because she was tired and you wouldn't sleep with her! How lame of a death would that be?"

Tifa and Aerith erupted in another fit of giggles, to which Red XIII growled at. He considered for a moment, deliberating, before leaping onto the mattress with a graceful jump. At first, he attempted to situate himself at the end of the bed, but before he could, Aerith's hands were on him, pulling at his mane and fur so that he was forced to acquiesce. He glared at her resentfully before allowing her to place the covers over him too, like a mother would a child.

"I am not your pet to snuggle with, Aerith," he rumbled, resting his head on her stomach despite it all. "Don't forget that."

Maybe he expected Aerith to argue, but she didn't. Instead, Aerith gently twisted her fingers in his fur, lightly scratching wherever she could—especially behind his pierced ears.

"You're not my pet," Aerith agreed, palms caressing Red to sleep. "But you and I are different. Hojo saw that—that's why he exploited us. So, we have to stick together because of it. Otherwise I'll be alone and I'm not sure I can handle that right now."

Tifa rolled over, turning herself so that she faced Aerith and Red's bed. "You'll never be alone Aerith. You'll always have me… and… Cloud. And Barrett, too."

"And me!" Yuffie trilled, sticking her hand in the air for no one to see.

Tifa nodded. "And Yuffie. Okay?"

Aerith smiled, and in the room's darkness, the dimmest of glints shined from her eyes, as if she was crying. "Thank you."

Peace settled in after that. Their breathing came long and slowly, and with every minute passing by, their bodies grew heavier on the mattresses. They weren't exactly comfortable, but they were better than the forest floor, or the measly accommodations Shinra had given to them when they'd been jailed.

"Which room do you want to take, Cloud?"

Barret's unmistakable voice seeped through their door, and Aerith, Red, Tifa, and Yuffie all stiffened awake. Yuffie groaned loudly, slapping her hands over her ears.

"Go away," she mumbled.

They never heard Cloud reply, but then their door was suddenly creaking open, and Cloud's blond hair poked through the doorway, the moonlight that filtered through their window illuminating his pale face.

"Hey, I just wanted to tell everyone goodnight."

"Wait!" Yuffie hissed, sitting up with incredible speed. "I have a question for you!"

Cloud waited, his eyebrows raising exponentially as Yuffie ground her hands into her eyes.

"Why is your sword so big?"

Something low and bass-like—and suspiciously sounding like Red XIII—began to rumble inside the room.

"Why is my… what?"

"You heard me! Why is it so dang big? Are you compensating for something? Do you think it makes you look cooler?"

Cloud's face registered confusion for only a moment. Frustration soon took its place. "Really, Yuffie?"

Yuffie's eyes, even in the dark, gleamed with wicked delight.

"For the record, Cloud, I think it _does_ make you look cooler."

"…Thanks."

"In fact, it makes you look so cool that I could just _kiss_ you!"

Red XIII barked out loud with renewed laughter and Tifa froze noticeably beside Yuffie, who only grinned in response. Red XIII gasped and choked, shaking the bed—and Aerith—with his raucous noise.

Cloud's eyes narrowed at all of the commotion, and he stayed silent for a long time before shrugging.

"Yeah, well, get in line."

He promptly exited, closing the door with a firm tug. While Aerith and Tifa remained quiet, Yuffie and Red XIII were beyond saving. They were absolutely howling with laughter, and Yuffie called out one more time to the nearby Cloud, her face bright cherry in the suite's darkness.

"Goodnight, Cloud!"

His reply was muffled by wood, but still audible. "Goodnight, Yuffie."

Yuffie bit her lip as hard as she could to keep from shrieking with delight, and when Tifa mumbled for her to shut up, Yuffie didn't argue. She slid her own pillow out from under her head and pressed it over her face, drowning her endless giggles in the stale, limp cloth.


	7. Sailin' High, Sailin' Low (Part 1)

**A/N: Another prelude chapter. Takes place after Kisses and Buster Swords. Minimal Clouffie involvement in this one but sets it all up for the next chapter :)**

To be very honest, from the get-go, the idea of ever putting on another Shinra uniform made Cloud want to vomit, or yell, or punch out his "commanding officer" and he endlessly instructed Cloud on how to march correctly. This shit was for the newbies, not ex-First Class SOLDIERS.

Not for someone who's known true war.

All _these_ guys were doing was preening their feathers. As Rufus watched their performance, Cloud did his best to move in synchronicity with the rest of the infantry men, but he felt a tightness in his arms as he shuffled the gun from shoulder to shoulder. Rufus's blue eyes were on him, sliding over him as if he was nobody important. As if he hadn't just gotten his ass beaten by Cloud a few weeks prior.

So, naturally, when it came time to board the cargo ship, Cloud was especially grateful. Before he'd even boarded he'd snagged extra uniforms for the rest of the gang, though not enough for everybody. Some would have to fend for themselves. They'd trailed Cloud the entire time he posed as an infantryman, and when he was dismissed from duty, he'd yanked the balled up uniforms out of his bulging backpack and chucked them in their general direction before they all boarded with him.

At least it was nice out. The ship jolted at first, but glided across the ocean like a marble on wood, and blue skies stretched overhead from every direction. Not that you could see them from inside the cargo-hold, of course. Still, it was nice knowing that not even Sephiroth could destroy the mild weather today boasted.

Cloud paced the lower level of the cargo ship for awhile, waiting for everyone to change their clothes. He silently scavenged for extra materia and items they could use, looking this way and that before stuffing the glittering merchandise into his toolbelt. Yuffie would be proud to see him steal so successfully.

"Psst," someone hissed. His head jerked in the general direction of the voice, and he saw a worker in an identical blue uniform, beckoning him over with their hand. Cloud nonchalantly acquiesced, his eyes checking his peripheries to make sure he wasn't being watched.

Cloud approached the person warily, not entirely sure just who he was speaking to.

"It's me," the voice hissed again. "Aerith."

Cloud was impressed; as slender and lithe as she was, the uniform hid her body well. He smiled privately and saw her mirror the gesture, nodding his head in approval. "You look good. I didn't even recognize you."

Aerith nodded, and the helmet she wore all but covered her face. He could only see her mouth. "Duh, that's the point, silly. Did you see that airship?" she asked. Aerith's voice grew excited at the mention of it, and her hands clenched together in enthusiasm. "Did you see how big it was?"

"Yeah," Cloud agreed, though he was less enthused by the ship than he was concerned who was on it. "It was bigger than I expected."

Aerith paused then, her helmet-head tilting to the side as she seemed to appraise him. Cloud couldn't tell for sure where her eyes were—all of their helmets were tinted dark—but he got the feeling that he was being studied.

"Do you think I'll ever be able to go on an airship, Cloud?"

Who was to know? Did he want her to secure one for her? If she asked, Cloud supposed he could try…

He shrugged, shoulder-pads lifting into the air as he did. "Dunno. But maybe I could take you one day?"

A slow, wondrous grin flashed across Aerith's mouth, shallow dimples puncturing the surrounding skin.

"Okay, Cloud. I'm really looking forward to it."

And Cloud was too, if he was being honest. The thought of him and Aerith atop the deck of an airship, the wind scattering their hair, the sun glowing proudly on the horizon… it made him warm. However, something kept the words stuck in his throat, and he simply smiled back at her, touching a quick hand to her elbow.

It was time to walk away; if he stayed in one place for too long or was seen lingering, attention would be drawn to him. Cloud let his hand fall from her elbow only to swoop it up and press it to the back of his neck, as if he were scratching there. _Smooth, Cloud. Real smooth._ His head felt light and heavy at the same time, and his eyes resumed their search for extra material he could pilfer, though they were a bit unfocused, as Cloud was still preoccupied with the premonition of him and Aerith flying through the air.

He passed another sentry who had their hands and arms braced on a pile of cargo in front of them. The sight made him smirk to himself; at least he wasn't alone with his weak stomach. A long, rusty staircase took him to the deck of the ship, and Cloud breathed in the fresh, salty air, savoring the way it felt in his nose and mouth. Trucks were one thing—a small, inescapable hurricane of a space—but a ship moving smoothly through the sea… that he could handle.

"Cloud!" someone called, and for a moment, Cloud was tempted to answer just on instinct. Who dared to use his name in front of Shinra personnel? Which one of his friends could possibly be that stupid? Cloud, frowning, shuffled over to the one who shouted for him. As he got closer, he could see the jerky, unnatural movements their legs made, as if they were a horse just learning how to walk. There was only one person it could be.

"Red, you idiot," Cloud rasped, keeping his voice deliberately quiet. "Someone could have heard you!"

Red XIII, completely unrecognizable, squirmed like a drunk dancer on the top of the deck and grinned despite Cloud's admonition. "I know, but look at me! I'm walking!" He hobbled back and forth, up and down, and if Cloud _had_ to, he supposed he'd define the movement as walking. Still, Red XIII looked more like a drugged-up goat dressed in a full-body uniform—how did it cover all of his fur anyway?—than he did a Shinra sentry. Though his greeting was irresponsible, he _did_ look amusing.

Cloud allowed a light laugh to ripple through his chest. "Yeah. I guess you are. Just keep it down, will you? Maybe you want to sit down, actually, just in case someone comes to make sure you're not inebriated on the job."

"No way," Red XIII whispered. "I gotta practice just in case. Who knows when I'll need to pose as a human again?"

A good question, if unrealistic. Cloud began to feel itchy inside his clothes and he ached to tear them off.

"Keep a low profile," he said, carrying himself away from the lion/beast hybrid. Red XIII growled in approval and resumed his jerk-hop-walk up and down the deck of the cargo ship.

Where was Barret and Tifa? He scanned the deck, but saw no one in their size or stature. They'd all have to get together soon to discover strategy, but…

Cloud inhaled deeply once more, feeling the cool, thrashing wind on his lower face. Maybe, after all of this was done and Sephiroth was defeated, he would take up sailing as a hobby. It didn't make him feel sick and it was the perfect escape from civilization. No one to ask or plead or request anything of him. Of course, he'd need to work a few jobs in order to afford his own boat, but he could always start a mercenary business, right? Might as well put his acquired skills to use.

All right. Enough day dreaming. All of that could wait for some other time.

Heading back the way he came, Cloud took the same staircase to descend below the deck. A wistful emotion pooled in his chest as the salty air and wind vanished, but there were still a few places he hadn't checked that may have supplies in them. Maybe a good sword or two, who knows?

There was a hallway off the main area that presumably led to locker rooms, Cloud thought. Or hopefully, storage closets. At the end of the hallway were three doors in front and on either side of him, and Cloud shrugged, pulling the north door open without a second thought.

"Wha—HEY!" someone screamed.

The pitch and volume of the noise assaulted his ears and Cloud ducked on instinct, his military reflexes putting him directly out of the line of fire.

"There's someone IN here you goddamn idiot!"

Wait, that voice…

Cloud, still crouching, peered up at a young woman half dressed in the same uniform he wore.

" _Tifa_?"

She was _almost_ covered; she'd already put on her trousers but had yet to do-up her shirt and belt. She stood in her bra, hands clutching the remaining uniform to her chest as she attempted to hide herself from the moronic intruder—himself, that is.

She glared down at him, but as he spoke, relented. Her eyebrows shot straight to the top of her forehead and she gasped, blood blooming throughout her face. " _Cloud_?"

He froze, unsure of what to do.

Or, where to look.

"Um…"

Tifa sneered, reaching over him. "Shut the door! Are you insane?" Cloud heard her yank the door closed with a formidable slam, and when darkness enveloped them, he stood up slowly, taking extra _extra_ care not to brush any part of himself against her.

"I'm sorry," he croaked, his voice having died somewhere in the middle of his throat. "I thought this was a storage closet or something. I was… scavenging," he muttered weakly. Dear God, he sounded _so_ stupid. Heat, thick and wild, spread to every part of him until he felt like he was melting. The uniform must have been sticking to his skin, he was so sweaty.

"Anyways… sorry."

He sensed, rather than saw, Tifa shift, the material of the cloth rustling in the space between them. He sighed as she continued to not speak and wondered if he should just leave.

"…Tifa?"

She made a weird noise, like she was clearing her throat, but nasally. "Yeah, sorry. You just… ugh. You nearly gave me a _heart_ _attack_. I thought I was going to have to punch somebody unconscious or something."

"Sorry… again."

"Oh, you're all right, Cloud," she said. She at least _sounded_ like she wasn't mad at him. "It's just this stupid uniform. How exactly do you put it all on? I've been trying for ages and I feel like I'm missing something."

"Oh, yeah. It's the belt, isn't it?"

"The belt?"

The storage closet allowed for the both of them, but it was still small enough that he felt her breath on his face. It was so dark—he couldn't see much of anything, but Cloud thought he saw the outline of her face as she looked at him. He imagined her burgundy, near-red eyes and small nose.

"The belt," he said. "The top half tucks into your pants, but you need to get the belt around first. Problem is, it's super complicated. I never knew why. But you have to do it up just right or it won't wrap around you correctly."

Tifa made a low noise of disgust. "This is ridiculous. I'd rather just walk around naked at this point."

Cloud tried viciously… _viciously_ , not to imagine such a sight.

"Uh," he mumbled, stumbling over himself. "Yeah. That probably wouldn't be very smart. We'd be surrounded in seconds."

"Whatever. Can you help me, then?" Her voice was tinged with annoyance, yet something soft and fragile lay behind the irritation. Cloud pretended not to notice the tentativeness and nodded.

Oh, right, she couldn't see.

"Sure. What part can I help with?"

"The top is straight forward enough but I can't get the belt right. So… that part, I guess."

Ah. The belt. Around her waist.

Cloud's heart raced in his chest. He could imagine it growing wings or perhaps it was more like an out-of-control engine, he wasn't positive. Still, the organ felt like it would fly out of his chest if he wasn't careful. He breathed in as deep as he could—and as silently, so that she wouldn't sense his nervousness.

"Okay. Give me the belt and put your top on."

He held out his hands, willing them not to shake—too much—and felt Tifa's fingers fumble awkwardly with his until she could press the belt into them. Her nervousness was completely noticeable; her skin was wet and clammy and cold. Cloud idled on the thought as he gracefully kneeled to the ground, preparing to loop the belt through her trousers.

"You good?"

Fabric moved and rustled like leaves in the wind. Cloud waited for Tifa to finish pulling the top on.

"Yeah. All set."

"'Kay," Cloud said. "Don't mind me. I'm just going to thread this through the loops at the top of your trousers and then I'll click the belt into the right position."

He felt Tifa freeze in place as she readied herself. "Go ahead."

It would be a little difficult to do in the dark, but Cloud was sure of himself. How many times had he done up this same uniform before making First Class? Probably a thousand. He reached out with careful hands and placed them on the nearest part of her waist that he could fine, making sure not to keep too low.

Tifa jolted a little as his fingers explored the waistband, tugging at it until he found the loops the belt was supposed to be thread through. She must have been as nervous as he was. Getting the belt around her wasn't too much of a hassle—once he found the loops it was easy to push the metal-studded leather into them, but Cloud was forced to wrap both of his arms around Tifa's hips as he threaded the belt through the back end of her trousers, and there was no getting around the fact that the space between them was all but vanished.

"Let's see if I can remember how to do this," he mumbled, yanking the belt through the final loop. He jerked the two ends together, pulling Tifa along with it, and she yelped a little from the movement.

"Geez. How did you manage to do this all those days you worked for Shinra?" she asked.

Cloud's brow lowered in concentration, and his tongue poked out of his mouth as he was forced to feel the elaborate shapes and angles of the belt's face rather than look at them. He silently hoped he wasn't too near the body part of hers that he was desperately trying to avoid, but as it was, his knuckles knocked against her lower abdomen many times. He shoved away all thoughts of her smooth, muscled belly and continued to work.

"Practice. There's a way to get the belt clicked in all the way in even if it's not proper, but it looks stupid. Best bet is to just learn how to do it the right way."

"Hm. I guess this means you're my hero again, doesn't it?" she said, giggling a little at herself.

Her laugh automatically made him smile. "Guess so." He'd listen to her laugh for the rest of his life, if he could.

It took a few more minutes of memorization, but Cloud was careful with the belt, attentive to how the intricate workings of the face all pieced together like the abominable puzzle it was. Whoever designed this uniform needed to be fired. Or killed off entirely. Why such a complicated uniform for the sentry men? Why such a complicated uniform at all?

His heart still raced, but Cloud's breathing became easier once he figured out how to do it. As each piece clicked together, his fingers moved nimbly to the next, and then the next, until the belt's face was all assembled and Cloud, groaning, rose to his feet.

"Okay," he said. "You should be able to tuck your shirt into it now."

Tifa didn't respond but merely did as she was told, her elbows jutting into him as she pushed down the top of the uniform beneath the fitted waistband.

"Done?"

He waited until she stopped moving and reached with his hand for the door handle. "We've been gone for way too long. Someone might have noticed. I'm going to go check in with everyone before we gather, okay?"

But Tifa lurched forward, grasping his free arm with her still-clammy hand. "Wait!"

Cloud tensed, all of his muscles yelling at him to exit the room before someone came barging in. "Yeah?"

"I just wanted to thank you," Tifa said. She sounded overwhelmingly shy, like that wasn't what she meant to say at all but panicked. "I couldn't have done this without you. Quite literally, in fact. So… thanks for helping me. I guess."

He swallowed down all of the awkward things he wanted to say back to her, and nodded. "You're welcome. Thanks for not punching me in the face."

A laugh spilled into the air once more. "No problem."

Cloud turned the door handle and creaked the door open just an inch. "Get your helmet ready. Do you have a hair-tie to wrap all of it up?"

"Yup."

"Good. Give the helmet to me while you tie. Here we go."

He felt the helmet be pushed into his other hand while he used shoved the door open all the way, exposing them once again to stale air and fluorescent lighting. He slid the helmet into the crook of his elbow and stepped aside to let Tifa out, who had the bulk of her hair already in her hands. She smoothed back all of her fringe and pulled up.

"Hey guys."

Cloud and Tifa froze, barely out of the storage closet as it was. Cloud's startled gaze flicked to someone bulky and ginormous—Barret-in uniform standing at the end of the hallway with…

Oh no.

"We were… looking for you," Aerith said, all of the color draining from her lips. Her helmet swiveled as she looked back and forth between Tifa and Cloud—Tifa, who still had her arms up in the air, tangled, sweaty hair pressed between her hands—and Cloud, one elbow slackened uselessly at his side. She stared at them, eyes and expression conveniently hidden behind her tinted headgear.

Cloud didn't know what to do.

But he sure knew what it looked like.

"What were you doing in there?" Barret asked, his voice a confused grumble.

Tifa suddenly unfroze, twisting her loose hair into a knot at the top of her head with lightning speed before she yanked back her helmet from Cloud—all without looking at him.

"Cloud was just helping me with my uniform," she said. Her mouth twisted unpleasantly as soon as the words left her mouth. They did nothing to exonerate them. "I couldn't get the belt right."

Aerith nodded mechanically, her voice flat and emotionless. "Yeah, the belt was the hardest part for me too."

Cloud felt as tight and as stressed as he did during battle, but this time, there was no enemy to be fought. Just endless, endless shame, igniting the canyons of his lungs and belly.

"Um… I'm going to go… get the others," he murmured, averting his gaze from all three of his friends. He took careful, stiff footsteps towards Barret and Aerith and the door behind them. As he neared Aerith, however, she cringed, snapping her head away and shunning his presence. The silent rejection hit him like a blow to the stomach. She wouldn't even let him try to explain?

Cloud fought a wave of nausea and he squeezed past Barret, entering into the main lower level of the cargo ship.


	8. Sailin' High, Sailin' Low (Part 2)

**A/N: I got sick! Some inbred at school must have infected me so I might not be able to upload on a daily basis for awhile, but no worries. I'm still planning and writing in the interim 3 Enjoy!**

The ship, the sea, the ocean air—all of it had been so enticing only several minutes ago and now, Cloud felt the urge to throw himself overboard and inhale as much water as he could. He wanted to drown and he wanted his lungs to explode from fluid and he wanted to blow up into tiny, little pieces that would scatter across the continental oceans, just so that he could escape from the mortifying experience he'd just endured.

He needed to get everyone together to plan their next move. Cloud knew that's what he should do—what he originally planned to do before barging in on Tifa. But the truth was, he couldn't have felt less like it.

Shuffling forward, his eyes reluctantly scanned the lower level of the cargo ship. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The sentry man—the same one who'd looked motion sick—was still leaning against a pile of stock, their hands braced forward as if they were going to fall forward and crumple in on themselves. Cloud knew the feeling.

"Hey, leader," the sentry man mumbled. Cloud froze. It wasn't a man's voice at all. It was—

"Yuffie?"

"Ughhh."

She retched, covering a mouth with one hand as the spasm ripped through her torso and chest. It was unclear whether or not she actually vomited, but a few moments passed and she let the hand drop, only to return it next to the other nearby her head.

Cloud padded over to her—nearly unrecognizable in her uniform, though she wore no helmet to cover her face like he did—and sighed to himself. There was always one.

"Do you have any medicine? Yuffie asked. It sounded like her throat was thick and swollen—tightening in the interim before she actually vomited. "I think I'm going to die. I think… hold on." She retched again, dry-heaving, though still, no fluid or substance seemed to actually exit her mouth.

"I think I'm going to kill myself."

The miserable, resentful tone of her voice unexpectedly yanked a smile onto Cloud's face, who felt odd sporting such an expression when he felt so terrible himself. Maybe it just pleased him to know that someone felt sicker than he did, though, he didn't quite see how that was possible after what'd happened.

Cloud plunged his hand inside one of his pockets, drawing out a small vial filled with something green. It'd been among the things he'd swiped from the cargo he'd scavenged earlier on, and it just so happened to be exactly what she needed.

"Here." He extended his hand forward and tipped the vial into one of her palms.

Savagely, she ripped off the miniature cork and downed the medicine in a desperate, long gulp. Cloud reached out for the remains so that he could throw it away, but Yuffie didn't bother with him. She chucked the small bottle behind her and the vial soared through the air, making a neat, satisfying _tinkling_ noise as it shattered on the ground. Cloud put his hand back by his side.

"Feel better?"

Yuffie shrugged, her head, shoulders, and face all bowed towards the floor. "I'll let you know in a minute. Thanks though."

"Don't mention it."

When Cloud heard the hallway door open, it immediately registered to him that it must have been Barret, Aerith, and Tifa returning to their posts. Oh, God. He didn't want to look, but he didn't want to not look either. That would be too suspicious of him and the evidence of his faux-fling with Tifa was already too incriminating.

He didn't think; he just moved.

"What are you _doing_?"

Yuffie's sweaty face turned towards Cloud, who'd smoothly thrown himself to the floor beside her so that when Barret, Aerith, and Tifa passed, he'd be shielded by her body.

"Shh. Be quiet!"

Their footsteps were like bombs to his ears, and Cloud, not too small of a man himself, curled his body into the smallest ball he could, pressing his shoulder blades and back up against the inner wall of the ship. Boxes and stacks of supplies surrounded him on both sides, and Yuffie stood in front of him, her bowed, sagging body the perfect shape for hiding behind. He only hoped that there was enough stock to camouflage him completely; if someone looked too intent on finding him, he'd be spotted right away.

It was Barret's voice who spoke first. "Ay, Yuffie. You seen Cloud anywhere?"

Cloud sank back further into himself as she shook her head.

"We were supposed to meet up to figure out what to do next," Tifa added. She sounded both shy and strained at the same time. Cloud didn't envy her position, assuming that Aerith would eventually ask about the storage closet.

Or maybe she wouldn't. Which would be worse?

Yuffie groaned, keeping her head and gaze directed at the floor. "You guys, no offense, but I couldn't care less about Cloud right now. Okay? If you find him, let me know. Otherwise, get lost."

Someone _hmphed_ —it sounded like Tifa, though it could have easily been Aerith as well.

"Fine," Barret muttered. He didn't sound too happy at the dismissal. "Stay where you are then so we know where to find you."

"Aye, aye, _captain_."

When the three finally left, the chains around Cloud's throat released him. He could breathe again… for now.

"Thanks for not squealing on me."

Yuffie moaned unhappily, but she straightened her spine and shook her shoulders loose from the weight they'd been bearing. "Whatever, man. Who am I to judge right?" Tearing off her headpiece, she let her hair scatter loose along her forehead and cheekbones. The sweaty strands stuck to her skin as if she'd showered. Cloud looked on sympathetically, having no where else for his gaze to turn except for Yuffie.

"Is the medicine starting to work?"

"Yeah," Yuffie replied. She raked each fingertip down the side of her flushed cheeks and glanced at him through the slits between them. "How long are you going to stay down there, anyway?"

Hell if he knew. Maybe until the gut-wrenching, life-ruining embarrassment withered away.

"Dunno."

"Do I even want to know what happened? Did you have a four-some with them that went bad or something?"

She… wasn't _too_ off base, he supposed. Cloud kept his mouth shut, staring wordlessly in response to Yuffie's question.

"No way," she said, shock and excitement erasing all traces of illness from her face. "There's no way I'm right, right?"

Under her enthusiastic stare, Cloud squirmed, and he felt the beginnings of a light sweat begin to form on the tops of his shoulder blades. "Of course you're not right."

Yuffie's grin faded with disappointment, the brilliant sheen of it dimming. "Oh. It isn't something lame, is it? I swear I'll puke if it is. And I'll _aim,_ too."

Was his situation _lame_? Cloud didn't think so. Humiliating, karmic, and devastating maybe. Not that it was the end of the world, but now the two girls he was interested in—a nightmare all on its own—hated him. Aerith for thinking… whatever she thought about the situation. And Tifa for not actually having done what Aerith thought. Plus, seeing Aerith upset over him couldn't have been fun, either. No. Not the end of the world.

But annoying.

Should he even be talking about this with another person? Barret and Red XIII certainly didn't mention anything about the girls. If Cloud told Yuffie about it, she might go running off and tattling the second he turned his back. Still… having no one to confide in… and Yuffie _was_ a girl. She could have some valuable insight for him!

Cloud shifted uncomfortably where he crouched. "Tifa and Aerith…" he began—

"—nope, no, stop. I can already tell it's lame."

Cloud's face contorted with irritation. "Then why'd you ask in the first place?"

"Because I thought something interesting actually happened," Yuffie complained. They glared at each other for a moment, and Yuffie sighed, throwing her hands into the air.

"I got all excited thinking someone did something terrible, but no. It's just your ridiculous, self-obsessed girlfriend situation. _Again_."

"Again?" When had Cloud ever mentioned anything about Aerith and Tifa to Yuffie? Or did they say something about it?

Yuffie, leaning against a pile of stock near her, appraised Cloud with judging, calculated eyes. In the fluorescent lighting they looked dark, but Cloud unconsciously—somehow—knew that they weren't as dark as they looked now. They were slightly brighter, more like honey and chocolate mixed together. Nothing at all like Aerith. Her eyes looked like shimmering emeralds in a summer sun. And Tifa's… perhaps rusted rubies dusted lightly with earth.

Yuffie rolled her eyes, drawing Cloud away from his thoughts. "God. The sexual tension between you three is _unbearable_. Are you actually dating either one of them?"

If it was that easy, Cloud would already be doing so.

"No."

"You should. You should pick one. Or better yet," she said, a mischievous grin dancing upon her mouth. "Pick the both of them and just don't tell."

Something hot and fiery drove itself into Cloud's gut as he realized… maybe that's what he'd been doing all along. And why it felt so wrong to betray them.

But Yuffie only shook her head at herself, clearly wrapped up in her own thoughts. "Nah. Don't do that. Neither one of them deserve it." Her nose scrunched slightly as she deliberated. "Now _that_ would be interesting."

"What would?"

"If they did deserve it."

"Oh."

"Yeah," Yuffie said, disappointment, once again, coughing out the light in her eyes. "But they don't." She exhaled long and slow, and Cloud noticed a trace of color flushing back into her cheeks, where there'd only been sweat before.

"So, what are you going to do about them?"

Hah! What a question. Cloud felt like laughing. Instead, he shrugged. "I thought this was too lame to talk about, anyway."

"Oh, it is," Yuffie said seriously, though her casual posture suggested otherwise. "But you came running to me and my open arms and I'm not about to throw my poor, dejected leader out into the cold just because I think his problems are stupid and he has the brain capacity of a single teaspoon."

Cloud's next inhale stopped in his throat. If anyone else talked to him like this, he might've hit them. Square in the jaw. And not because of the mutinous, mocking insinuation, but because of the _arrogance_.

Yet…

Instead, all Cloud could do was burst out laughing, his Adam's apple bobbing frantically as giggle after giggle surged through of him.

Yuffie simply watched as he dissolved into fits—eyebrows even and knowing, tongue stuck in the side of her cheek. She looked pleased as he breathlessly gasped for air, a proud smirk growing warm on her lips.

"Oh, man," Cloud rasped, his breaths still hijacked with giggles. "You're a tough one, aren't you?" It was so uncharacteristic of him to still be laughing, but something about her words and her gestures just upset the nausea in his stomach. Maybe it was because she was so outlandish. And wild. And rude. And disrespectful.

But in the best, most honest of ways.

Yuffie, placing one palm on her hip, curtsied for him. "Just telling it like it is."

"Uh-huh."

"Hey, you're the one who invited me to join you guys."

Cloud swallowed down another cluster of giggles, causing him to lurch forward. "Uh, _no_. You invited yourself after we _humiliated_ you in battle."

"Was that the way it happened?"

"Yeah."

"Huh. Weird. I suppose I don't recall."

It was everything Cloud could do to keep a straight face. He averted his gaze from Yuffie entirely, forcing himself to calm down as he studied the floor. Slowly, limb by limb, he allowed himself to stretch out from the tight ball he'd been in. Several joints cracked, offering him physical relief as he breathed in and out. The pressure on his chest was so much lighter than before.

"Feel better?" Yuffie asked, echoing him from earlier.

"Mhm."

She pushed herself away from the cargo, standing straight, proud, and alert. She looked healthy, Cloud noticed. As if she glittered like the endless materia he'd swiped.

"Good. Me too."


	9. Between A Rock And A Hard Place

"You hear that, Tifa?" Yuffie chirped. As she brushed off the remains of the battle, she eyed Tifa with a wicked grin, making her mouth crease with delight. "Rude _likes_ you."

Tifa was holding a gentle palm to her jaw, which had started to bruise an ugly, purple color.

"Well, he packs one hell of a punch, I'll give him that."

Cloud strapped his buster sword across his back and adjusted the sheath so that the sling lay comfortably across his chest. Tifa, Aerith, Yuffie, and he had run into the Turks only some minutes ago and it'd bothered Cloud to see them. Their presence brought only bad tidings—nothing good.

"If you guys ever got married," Yuffie replied, "You'd have the strongest babies ever. Like, stronger than Sephiroth maybe."

At that, Tifa had to laugh. "Ha! Ow… yeah, maybe. Aerith?" She glanced at Aerith who returned her stare with a wondering blink before ultimately realizing what was being asked of her.

"Oh! Got it." Aerith hurried over to Tifa's side and pried Tifa's hand loose from her injury. In a matter of moments, Aerith had healed the bruise completely, with Cure's blinding light radiating out from between her fingers. It always amazed Yuffie to see Aerith heal so efficiently—she'd heard of Cure before and it's incredible effects but no one had the skill or talent for healing that Aerith did. She all but oozed restorative effects herself, and although once wary of her—and still occasionally annoyed by her girlish crush over Cloud—Yuffie had come to admire Aerith. She'd never met anyone like her before.

"How did they know where we'd be?" Aerith mumbled, pressing a single finger to her chin. Worry lines darkened the areas around her eyebrows. Yuffie absentmindedly itched to smooth them out.

"Yeah," Tifa agreed. "It makes me nervous to think—"

"That there's a spy?"

Everyone flinched at Cloud's words. _Spy_. It sounded so sinister. Like such a betrayal. Could such a thing be true?

"I don't believe there is one," he added. Cloud's eyes raked over each one of the girls, lingering on their faces; Yuffie was last. She met his gaze evenly, her own worry reflected back to her in the mirrors of his pupils.

"I trust everyone."

Trust. Yuffie shoved away the warm wave of shame creeping throughout her body. It hadn't been so long since Wutai. Not long enough for everyone to forget what she'd done. Yuffie fought the urge to curse and violently hoped that no one else was thinking what she was.

But as she looked at Tifa and Aerith and they looked back at her, there wasn't a trace of suspicion on their faces. They smiled at her—and each other—before awaiting further instruction from Cloud. He seemed to be lost in his own thoughts, his gaze unfocused and trained on the ground. The three girls waited silently as he recollected himself and nodded east, towards a path framed by high weeds on either side. Together, they stalked down the worn trail, footsteps padding quietly in the dirt.

The sun looked out of place here. It hung low in the sky and gleamed a sickly burnt aura that painted the sky an equally ill color. It was warm, however, and a cool breeze darted in and out of the unkempt forestry around them. As they walked, scattered bits of debris soon littered both the path and the fields all around them, and within minutes, an enormous, colossal behemoth of something ruined and broken loomed overhead.

"A reactor," Cloud said to himself.

Near the demolished reactor, the ground had split open, revealing a gaping cavern that looked ominous, like it might reach out and pull them into its depths. Cloud's body tensed like wire but he motioned them forward with a jerk of his hand, and Yuffie clutched the strap at her chest—similar to Cloud's—that attached to her sheathed shiruken. She wanted her hands on the metal itself but wordlessly commanded herself to relax; there was yet to be a sign of danger. Still… Yuffie allowed herself to be on guard, each nerve singing with the anticipation of something fierce. A reactor was always bad news, but a ruined reactor?

A sudden noise—like the sky tearing in two—struck at Yuffie, yanking her gaze upward.

Helicopter.

Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith mirrored her reaction, and before Cloud could even get the words out, Yuffie was already dashing forward, towards the ruined reactor and the mounds of beaten, used metal.

" _Hide_!" he'd hissed.

Years of expert training allowed for faster reflexes than the rest of them, and as Yuffie settled herself behind a wall of shredded, broken machinery, Tifa and Aerith sprinted to find a similar hiding space. Yuffie's heart raced and she could feel it like a machine itself, smothered in adrenaline, drowning inside her chest cavity. She willed Tifa and Aerith to _hurry up_ for god's sake, and could only breathe again when they were amply covered by a tall pile of exposed piping. Cloud, bringing up the rear of the group, threw himself beside Yuffie, a sheen of sweat covering his face and neck.

"Who is it?" she whispered to him, words a mere breath. Cloud shrugged and his chest rose and fell with deep, heavy gasps. Yuffie supposed they'd have to wait to see.

"Gya, ha, ha, ha!"

Yuffie bristled as Cloud's body jolted against her and she narrowed her eyes at him only to find that he was scowling, hatred and indignation written across his features like a well-worn book. He wouldn't return her gaze and instead rose slightly on his toes. Yuffie and Cloud were both crouching behind the wall of metal, but Cloud steadied a hand on Yuffie's shoulder and gently forced her back so he could lean forward to see who was there. Yuffie frowned but acquiesced, allowing his calloused hand to push her away.

"Hmph. This isn't any good, either," a high, shrill voice said. Yuffie froze—the woman sounded too close for comfort. "But what can you expect? Only junk materia comes from junk reactors."

Cloud let his hand fall from Yuffie and he steeled it against the wall as he leaned forward, inch by inch, until his icy, blue eyes spotted a crimson dress like blood amidst all the ruined reactor parts. He felt a light touch on the back of his shoulder blades and held still as Yuffie's hair abruptly brushed by his face.

"Who is she?" she asked.

The woman continued on about 'huge materia,' and Cloud's face tensed in confusion. He swiveled his head, and Yuffie was so close to him already that the mere gesture almost brought their mouths together, but Cloud disregarded this spoke softly into her ear.

"Scarlet. Head of Shinra's Weapon Development Program. She wants to build the perfect weapon or something. Tseng of the Turks is also with her."

"Tseng?"

"He had orders to capture Aerith when I first met her."

Yuffie's fists tightened by her sides. "Can't we fight them?"

Cloud's hair tickled Yuffie as he shook his head. "Not unless we want them calling reinforcements. They'd be able to apprehend Barret, Nanaki, Vincent, Cid, and Cait Sith as well, assuming we couldn't get back to them in time."

"Ugh."

"I know."

Cloud turned his face away and looked out once more toward Scarlet and Tseng, although by this time their conversation had turned mundane. Yuffie waited patiently, not being able to hear much of anything until Cloud's body relaxed and the sound of the helicopter flying away reached her.

She sagged against the wall of metal and sighed. "I really wish we could've fought them."

"I know," Cloud replied, though his voice sounded absent of attention. Yuffie glanced at him and he was looking out to where Scarlet was searching as if she'd left something of interest.

"Cloud!" Tifa shouted from across the reactor.

"Yeah!"

"Where are you?"

"Over here. I think Scarlet dropped something! I'm going to check. Can you go back and tell the others what happened?"

What? Yuffie's eyes narrowed in response. Why was he separating them? She righted herself and padded a few steps towards Cloud, who instinctively blocked her with his own body. Her chest collided with his back as she walked into him. What was he _doing_?"

"Are you sure?" came Aerith's worried voice. She sounded nervous—and rightly so, considering who nearly caught them.

"I'm sure!" Cloud called back. He further prevented Yuffie from leaving by encircling a hand around one of her wrists and Yuffie tried to yank free, but failed.

"Hey, let go!"

Tifa and Aerith weren't soundless as they retreated from where they came, and Tifa was the one who answered, her voice further away than before. "Okay! We'll be right back!" Cloud mentally cursed their indelicate movements as they bumped into reactor parts, causing clanging noises that ricocheted all around them. He knew they could be quiet when they tried, but made a mental note to relay to them that that should be _always_.

"Cloud, let g—"

Yuffie gasped as Cloud, still holding onto her wrist, wrenched her backwards so that her shoulder blades smacked into the wall again, her feet tripping over each other as he pulled. He wasn't savage, but Cloud was firm, and he released her wrist only to brace one forearm against her neck while he pressed the bulk of his weight into her, trapping and preventing Yuffie from the chance to escape.

Their faces were only inches apart, and their breaths, equally erratic, mixed as they stared into each other's eyes: Cloud's gaze a probing accusation while Yuffie's were quiet, almost neutral in expression so that a knot of anxiety formed in the pit of his stomach.

Cloud may have been the aggressor but Yuffie—still and wordless—was the one who truly looked dangerous.

Neither spoke for a long time.

What was he waiting for? Cloud didn't know—he just acted! He allowed his breathing to grow long and unlabored before he opened his mouth, not knowing how many minutes had passed by in the interim.

"Yuffie…"

She said nothing, but the cold fury in her eyes made Cloud nervous.

Cloud swallowed down his anxiety and brought his voice to a low timbre.

"Are you a spy for Shinra?"

Incredulousness flashed across her face and then, rage. "Am I a _what?_ "

He knew he sounded audacious just by asking, but what was he supposed to do? After Wutai? Materia was one thing but personal, intimate betrayal was just… intolerable. Cloud, too strained to speak, refused to repeat his question.

Yuffie eyed him thoroughly before her mouth curled in disgust. She released all rigidity from her body and sank back into the wall, feeling Cloud's forearm flex firmly against her neck. His weight was heavier than she remembered, though this was dead-weight, and not the careful, balanced posture he demonstrated on their night at Cosmo Canyon, so Yuffie supposed she shouldn't have been surprised.

"You've got to be kidding me," she spat, eyes suddenly weary. Her head made a soft _thunking_ noise as she let it recline on the metal, and her headband felt slick with sweat. She ached to rip it off entirely.

"Seriously, Cloud?"

He was still stiff and tensed, ready for battle. "I'm not kidding, Yuffie. So help me, if you're a spy—"

"What makes you think I'm a _spy_?"

Her question hovered in the air like lead, and they both knew the answer to it instantaneously. Wutai, of course. But that was something else altogether. A betrayal, perhaps, but nothing like what he was insinuating now.

She regarded him carefully, with calculated eyes. Cloud looked exhausted to her, like he hadn't slept in days. A pang of pity resonated throughout her chest as the lines of fatigue on his face revealed themselves to her. Cloud, the leader, always suffering in silence. She closed her eyes and sighed.

"Cloud, there is a big difference between what I did to you at Wutai and what you are accusing me of now. If you were sane, you would see that."

His blanched at the word 'sane.' Yuffie knew it was a cheap shot, but how else was she supposed to get his attention? He was acting ridiculous. Not entirely without cause, but ridiculous nonetheless.

"I know why you did what you did, and I believe you. I just… if there was anyone who I wasn't sure of…"

Cloud paled at the hurt flashing onto Yuffie's face.

"No, not like what. I'm just…confused," he finished lamely. Cloud released his forearm from her and instead, shifted the hand to the wall beside Yuffie's head where he braced it.

"You're always confused," Yuffie said, pain still indicative on her visage. "That doesn't give you the right to accuse me of being a _spy_. And for Shinra, no less! They're the ones who ruined Wutai, remember? Why would I spy for _them_? After what they did to Aerith and Nanaki?"

Yuffie's eyes narrowed at Cloud, and he frowned, bowing his head in the slight space still between them.

"You're so out of line, Cloud."

Hot, righteous shame flushed Cloud's entire body and he broke out in a cold sweat. "You're right," he mumbled. "I'm sorry."

It was clear that as they neared the Temple of Ancients, the more he became undone. It was sort of like the closer they got to Sephiroth, the more paranoia Cloud expressed. Yuffie—besides that one time in the Junon cargo ship—had never actually seen Sephiroth and therefore didn't entirely understand how dangerous he was. But if it made people like Cloud—who otherwise had no reason to break down—lose it, she began to wonder if she should start to consider Sephiroth a more serious threat than she did. No one was guaranteeing that they'd get out of this alive, at any rate.

Cloud thought that Yuffie might punch him for being so presumptuous in his accusations, and as her hands rose up in action, he decided he deserved it.

"You stupid idiot."

Cloud froze as Yuffie flung her arms around him, ensnaring his chest into an unbreakable hold as she pressed her cheek against it.

She was… hugging him?

"You truly are the squishiest guy I've ever met," she mumbled into his chest-piece. Cloud was still frozen, one hand braced on the wall, though he slowly, if not hesitantly, removed that hand and returned the gesture with tentative enthusiasm. Yuffie was slender and warm as he slipped his arms over her shoulders, and he felt all the physical stress in his body evaporate as if purified out of him.

A hug. A simple hug.

He hadn't known how much he needed this.

Cloud leaned the both of them back into the wall of scrap metal as he burrowed his face in the crook of Yuffie's neck. "Only to you, because I know you won't squeal on me. Barret would call me terrible, terrible names."

A muffled reply came from his chest. "Cid, too. He'd call you a p—"

"Yeah, yeah," Cloud muttered, squeezing Yuffie tight to shut her up. "I get it. I'm a deeply insecure man."

"Who said you were a man?"

"Ou-ch."

He could feel Yuffie giggle more than he could hear her. It made him want to laugh too.

A minute passed by and still they remained like that, holding onto one another with the sun dying low in the horizon, throwing out faint, weak echoes of sunlight in this sickened landscape. Cloud knew he should let go soon, but being held just felt so _nice_ and what he said was true: Yuffie wouldn't tell anyone of his anxiety. Therefore, who else could he hold like this and really, seriously feel it?

"Tifa and Aerith will be back soon," he said.

And for once—for the first time maybe in his entire life—Cloud wished, absently, in the back of his mind, that they wouldn't.

Yuffie slid her arms lower, around Cloud's waist instead of his chest. "Maybe not for a little while. Depends how fast they're going." She exhaled slowly and pulled away from Cloud, though she dug her fingers into the top of his belt as she reclined backwards.

Cloud's gaze was slightly unfocused and he felt tired, like he was sagging. As Yuffie worked on her lower lip in thoughtlessness, Cloud's eyes were pulled downwards, watching her teeth mindlessly scrape against the rose-colored flesh. It wasn't long before Yuffie realized what he was staring at.

"You know," she said, her face brightening with an impish smile, "You can if you want."

"Can what?" Cloud asked. His thoughts were all fuzzy.

Yuffie outright grinned, though her eyes closed shut in what seemed like fatigue. She was tired too.

They were all tired.

"You know what."

Cloud knew what she meant.

"Why do I get the feeling that that's a bad idea?" he mused. Still, he couldn't help but smile. Yuffie, always trying to get him in trouble. Or herself. Or the both of them.

Yuffie shrugged, and Cloud's arms—still around her neck—moved with her. "Because it probably is."

She was right; it probably was. Either way, before he could talk himself out of it, Cloud swooped in quickly and pressed his lips to hers. When he pulled away, he laughed at the surprised expression on her face.

"A best friend kiss, for my best friend."

Yuffie gasped sarcastically. "I'm your _best_ friend?"

"… Yeah?"

"Since when? You've never actually _told_ me that before, so naturally," she giggled, "I'm shocked."

Cloud ducked down and kissed her again before she could anticipate it. "A best-friend-kiss for my shocked best friend, then."

Yuffie's eyes shone with mirth, transforming them into moving, wood-colored pictures. "Is that what you have to tell yourself so you don't feel guilty? It's a 'best friend kiss?'"

"Perhaps."

They laughed together, low and high registers colliding all around them, echoing back like cannons of joy.

"That's all I get, though? A best-friend-kiss?"

Cloud's eyes seemingly darkened at the implication and he tilted his head at Yuffie, pretending to accuse.

"There's no time for the other stuff."

"Ah, but you're saying that _other stuff_ would happen given we had time?"

Her wickedness amused him to no end. He sighed gruffly before pressing his forehead into Yuffie's. "This is not the place for _other stuff_ either."

"So we would need time and a right place, then?"

" _Yuffie_."

"I'm just _asking_."

Cloud allowed one of his hands to drop, and he rested it over Yuffie's collar bone. Pressing down, he could feel the sharp indentation of the bone on his palm; Cloud liked the way it felt. Sharp and proud, just like Yuffie. Slowly, Cloud inclined his head, fastening his mouth to Yuffie's much more gently than before, as if his lips were like tracing paper. He mumbled something about a "bad idea" against Yuffie's face, and Yuffie opened her mouth—both to speak, but also to deepen the kiss itself.

"There is no bad with attraction," she muttered plainly. "It just _is_. And you're not a bad person for feeling it, Cloud. Relax."

He _wanted_ to. As Yuffie slid her tongue along Cloud's, he felt the familiar shiver of adrenaline race down his spine. Sliding his hand up into her hair, he used the other to lift one of her legs off the ground. Yuffie wrapped it around him instead, and Cloud was content with that, but then Yuffie's other leg was suddenly around his waist too and Cloud had absolutely no idea how _that_ had happened.

"Bad idea," Cloud groaned. He felt Yuffie's arms twine around his neck, pulling at him, and heat flooded his body at the thought of being so close together. "Such a bad idea."

Yuffie made a noise of protest. "Then stop and put me down."

Cloud didn't even try to hesitate. "No thanks."

"Then _shut up_."

"I'm trying. I'm _nervous_."

"For God's sake."

Yuffie wasn't heavy at all, and still Cloud felt the pressure of her as if she was—he was so hyperaware of her and of the proximity of her pelvis against his, and _yes_ he wanted her, but no, it was not a good idea to want her _at all_ and man, this was so confusing.

Cloud and Yuffie's breath were ripped shreds in the air, coming in uneven intervals. The scrape of her shiruken on the wall was audible despite its sheath, and Cloud tangled both his hands in the shaggy, dark expanse of Yuffie's hair which was slightly damp with heat—heat that he knew all too well. She was firmly pinned by the force of his waist on hers and the delicious friction that came with that muddled Cloud's thoughts even further, until he couldn't think or feel anything beyond the softness of Yuffie's hair, her athletic body on his, the uncomfortable pressure in between his legs.

She about hummed with satisfaction, and Cloud pulled the back of Yuffie's hair, forcing her jaw and neck upwards. He peppered it with light, paper kisses and felt the thready stream that was Yuffie's breath in her throat, like a confused wind that didn't know which way to go and instead pulsated with energy. He imagined undressing her, right here, in the open, and then undressing himself, and what _that_ would feel like, because deep down Cloud had been thinking about Cosmo Canyon since the night it happened and he would be a liar if he said he'd never fantasized about it before falling asleep.

"Cloud," Yuffie whispered, "I think—"

"Cloud!"

As if on a cruel and hideous cue, Tifa's voice rang out, startling both he and Yuffie so that they were frozen together in a tangle of limbs and flesh.

"Cloud!" Aerith yelled. "We're back!"

"Knew it," Yuffie muttered. Pushing away Cloud with her legs, she sagged to the ground, cheeks, lips, and neck flushed with bright pink.

"How did you hear them before me?"

Yuffie eyed Cloud's hair warily before arranging it back into its usual array of assembled spikes. "I have good hearing. And you were too busy to notice."

Cloud glared. "And you weren't?"

Yuffie smirked and quickly kissed Cloud before shoving him backwards. "Oh, trust me, Cloud. I _enjoyed_ that."

Cloud raked a hand over his face. "Why does it sound so filthy when you say it like that?"

"Because you're already thinking dirty, filthy thoughts."

"Cloud!"

Flustered, Cloud motioned for her to go. "I'll catch up. I have to take care of this," he said, absently gesturing to his groin. Yuffie didn't have to look down to know what he meant, but a wicked gleam entered her eyes anyway.

"Right. I'm out."

And in the blink of an eye, Yuffie was gone. Cloud could hear her voice mixed in with Tifa and Aerith's, and to steady himself and his traitorous, abominable body, he forced himself to take deep, long breaths. He only needed a minute to calm himself down, and when he felt adequately grounded, Cloud swallowed hard and ducked out from behind the wall, although he did stop where Scarlet crouched earlier on. His fingers encountered something hard and smooth, and he saw the glow of the red materia as his fingertips encountered it. A summon! That was interesting.

Straightening himself, Cloud shuffled over to the triage of girls and forced himself not to stare at Yuffie. One glance was all he needed to become undone again.

Deep breath.

"Hey, guys."


	10. Costa del Sol (CDS Part 1)

**A/N: [FLASHBACK CHAPTER]**

"Yo!" Barret exclaimed as they all boarded off the cargo ship. "Look at this place!"

Cloud resisted the urge to squint and cast his eyes out towards the endless expanse of ocean on all sides of them. Waves, deep and thick with foam crested like liquid sapphires. The sun was a golden flower blooming in the sky, transforming the sea into gemstones and the beach sand into rivers of white glass. It was warm and the air was rich with salt. All in all, perfect weather. It was hard for Cloud's spirit _not_ to lift as he took in the sights around him. The business with Tifa and Aerith in the ship had been mortifying, but this—the ocean, the beach, his wonderful friends around him… this was a moment to drink in.

Barret's brown eyes were lit with excitement as he clapped a hand on Cloud's shoulder. "I know we're chasing Sephiroth and everything, but damn, Cloud. We gotta take one day off and just _enjoy_ ourselves, you know?"

"I second that," Yuffie said, raising a palm towards the sky. "I just joined you guys and I'm already exhausted. I vote yes."

Tifa's face, illuminated by the sun, stretched into an expression of joy. "Me too! I say we relax."

"Agreed," Aerith voted.

Red XIII grumbled happily as the wind lifted his mane from his shoulders. "Aye." His crimson fur shone brilliantly in the sunlight, like tendrils of fire, soft and flowing on his skin. "I could use a cat nap, anyhow."

"Ha!" Yuffie yelled. "Cat nap. I get it."

It wasn't even like Cloud had forbidden that they do relax. He'd said nothing as they'd disembarked the cargo ship, but the consensus was clear and overwhelming. There would be no more hunting for today. Today, they would breathe, stretch out, and enjoy the weather.

Cloud nodded his additional assent and raked a few fingers through his hair. "Yeah. I don't see a problem with taking today off. We shouldn't make this a frequent habit, but why not?" After all, he could definitely use the reprieve. Anxiety still sang through him like a shrill and ominous chorus. Yuffie had certainly helped, nevertheless, it was hard not to feel nervous at the heavy weight of Sephiroth loomed over him.

"Aw, yeah!" Barret fist-pumped the air and took off without another glance at the rest of them. "See you all later! I'm out of here."

Red XIII straightened himself and shook out his fur. "Me too." His powerful legs sprang forward, propelling him with a graceful gait as he darted towards the end of the harbor. One by one the crew members filed out, Tifa and Aerith darting away together so that Yuffie was left with Cloud. He inhaled deeply, filling each lung with the fresh tang of saltwater.

"You feeling less sick?"

Yuffie stretched out her arms, yanking them over her head. Her crop top rose even higher, exposing a smooth canvas of skin, and idly, Cloud wondered if he should get sunblock for the lot of them or just let them burn.

"Yeah," she said, voice scarce and breathless as she returned her arms to her sides. "How about you? Do you feel any less suicidal?"

It was like Yuffie always spoke in hyperbole. Had Cloud mentioned suicide? He didn't think so. Regardless, Cloud fingered the sheath strap across his chest and resisted the urge to stretch himself.

"I suppose. Don't really know what I want to do now."

"I'm going swimming. Feel free to join," Yuffie said. She began strutting away, arms swinging happily. "Or not. Your choice." Cloud eyed her the entire time it took her to follow the others. It seemed like just about everything glittered here—an effect of the sun or some powerful aura altogether? Rays of light seemed to beam off Yuffie's hair and soon she was gone, leaving Cloud all alone. Ship cargo crew members started to unload supplies behind him; they'd get no free time. Instead, they'd be forced to lift and set down, lift and set down, until their muscles screamed for release. It was just how they'd been chasing Sephiroth. Chase and sleep, chase and sleep, chase and sleep and eat. It was a relentless, never-ending cycle of cops and robbers. To be honest, Cloud was tired. Really, truly, tired.

It made Cloud all the more determined to relax.

—

 **A/N: Hey, guys! I really did myself in by posting the first chapter of this series in the middle of the crew's timeline, so I think it'll have a** _ **This Is Us**_ **structure. Flashbacks and flash forwards into the present… details being revealed bit by bit instead of a steady, chronological order. It's just easier to write that way so I have more flexibility in giving the characters more defining backstories. I feel like the Costa de Sol chapters might be a little long, so this is just the first bit to put down while I deal with school the rest of the week! Thanks for being patient and sticking around! 3**


	11. Two Chickens And A Fuckboy (CDS Part 2)

First, he figured he should find some place to unpack their stuff. Materia _clunked_ together in his toolbelt and gleamed on the knuckles of his gloves. He'd need a safe area to put them down as well as his sword and the myriad of other supplies they'd always force him to lug around. Just because he was strong didn't mean he was a _pack mule_. Honestly.

At first glance, Costa del Sol looked like sparkling mass of golden huts. Everything was beige and peach, and the shimmery heat in the air transformed the buildings in the distance into sandstone castles with coral for roofs. It was an aquatic kingdom, with the ocean visible at literally every angle so that the effect put you in a tourist paradise, replete with enough shops to bankrupt you. But, happily bankrupt you. Cloud made a mental note to see what materia and weapons were offered here.

Like any other stop in their travels, they'd need to secure a few hotel rooms. Cloud decided to start there, passing by the main square of Costa del Sol with eager, yet tired eyes. Red XIII lounged against the hotel, soaking in the sun so that he positively glowed. He already looked asleep to Cloud, although Red XIII had a habit of looking asleep when he was in fact perceiving everything else around him. He probably noticed Cloud as Cloud passed on by, entering the alarming shade of the hotel's interior. It was like a light switch went off, drowning him in darkness.

A few moments were needed to let his eyes adjust, but right away, Cloud spotted Barret at the pool table in the room off to the right.

"You fuckin' bastard," his voice boomed out. Cloud's gaze snapped to the man Barret played against and stifled a laugh as the man's face paled. He looked completely out of his element; compared to Barret, he was the size of a _mouse_. But Barret could be persuasive when it came to pool, and so the man probably felt he had no choice but to accept a game or billiards just in fear of what Barret would do if he said no.

"That was a good shot!" Barret mumbled angrily. His thick, dark brows furrowed as a scowl bloomed across his face. "But it'll be the last one you get. Hey, Cloud!"

Cloud waved at Barret noncommittally—he just jerked his hand. "Hey, I'm probably going swimming after I book us some rooms. I think Yuffie might be down there too if you want to join."

Hope—fresh and sharp—cut into Barret's opponent and the man visibly perked up at the thought of Barret leaving. He wrung his hands on the billiard pole and tried to sound nonchalant as he spoke.

"You should go! I won't mind."

Barret's eyes narrowed into slits and he tilted his head at the dismissal. "You're just trying to get me to forfeit, ain't ya? Well, too bad. It's not gonna work." And without another glance at Cloud, Barret went back to his game, shoulders bowing over the table like brown mountains. Cloud shrugged to himself and stalked across the main hall until he arrived at the check-in counter. A man who looked so bored he came off catatonic manned it. As Cloud thought, the rooms would be expensive. He tipped the coins into the clerk's passive hands and selected the two rooms in the back of the building.

xxxxxxxxxx

Buying swim trunks had been an ordeal on its own. Of course it was. Strange things happened to Cloud every day and this had just been another instance where life was trying to tell him that the world was insane. Not him because of the voices in his head or the visions, but the world. The world was literally crazy.

Halfway towards the beach, it'd occurred to Cloud that he didn't have any swimming trunks. And no way was he going to swim in his underwear. The potential for embarrassment was far too high to ever entertain the thought. Mumbling a string of dark oaths, Cloud scowled at the thought of spending any more money and made his way towards a general shop. The cashier had been a cheerful looking man who read a magazine that sported two very naked women on the cover—women who were doing unconscionable things to each other—and Cloud's eyes slid over the images quickly as he'd headed to the side of the store that advertised swim-wear.

The color really didn't matter to him. Nor the pattern. After ten seconds of deliberation, Cloud had picked out shorts that looked more khaki than anything else, and he'd pushed the material onto the check-out counter. The cashier continued on reading for several seconds more than courtesy usually allowed, and Cloud's eyebrows slowly furrowed, dark lines blackening them as he waited patiently to be noticed.

"Um, hello?"

"Hey," the cashier replied. His eyes remained glued to the magazine. Cloud fought the urge to rip it out of his hands. Just as the his fingers started to curl into fists, the cashier—his name tag read Larbeight—rang up the trunks quickly and without comment on the magazine or his own rudeness. In fact, he didn't really even look at Cloud. The man named Larbeight looked like the average male, if a little more attractive. He was lanky but in the athletic way, and his eyes were soft and almond shaped.

Whatever.

Cloud just wanted his stuff. As soon as the transaction was done, Larbeight had went back to sitting on his stool behind the counter, the inappropriate magazine already back in his hands. If he was that confident about his pornography habits, Cloud supposed that was fine, but still.

Weird. Insane.

"Can I use the changing room?" Cloud had reluctantly asked. He never wanted to speak to the man again after this exchange.

"Mhm." Yet again, no eye contact was established, but Cloud didn't complain. In long strides, Cloud had shuffled into the changing room—a mere stall with a curtain for privacy—and shed his armor. He'd pulled the trunks on and tied the strings so that they wouldn't slip off his hips—hips, he realized, that used to have a lot more to them. He'd also made a mental note to eat as much as he could here. Clearly, constantly being on the road was not conductive to retaining a healthy weight.

Now, as the soft sand dissolved under his feet, the slight rage that had built up from the whole transaction began to loosen and seep out of his body and into the warm atmosphere. He dropped his armor unceremoniously behind a pile of rocks that looked safe enough and immediately spotted the three girls already waist deep in the ocean's bay. The sun highlighted them like individual spotlights, and Cloud shuffled his way towards them, absently acknowledging that they were also in swimsuits…

…which were expensive, so where did they get the money for them, exactly?

"Hey, Cloud!" Yuffie shouted. She cupped her hands around her mouth and then waved him over, and Cloud tried not to flinch as Aerith and Tifa's subsequent gazes turned to him. He could _feel_ them scan over his body, looking, analyzing, comparing… maybe even judging. And it wasn't that Cloud didn't have a body to be proud of—on the contrary. Still, it was hard not to feel like he was a specimen in a lab and researchers had come to poke and prod him.

Then again, he supposed that the same could be same for the girls as well. All three wore two-pieces that showcased the majority of their skin, so of course, Cloud did his very best not to look at them for too long lest they feel uncomfortable under his own scrutiny. Still… he managed to sneak in a glance or two.

Tifa sported a dark red bikini. The top was a halter and clung around her neck while the bottoms were plain. It was a simple suit with no design on it—just a single maroon color. The color of rich blood. The color of her eyes. Her entire body was corded with impressive muscle—Cloud knew that—but undressed as she was, it was all the more noticeable. Cloud felt a weird, strange proudness come over him. Tifa was strong and he knew it, but the physical evidence only reaffirmed the pride he felt at being best friends with a woman that could shatter ribs with a single punch to the gut.

Tifa smiled as he stepped into the water and like Yuffie, also waved him over. Her abdominal muscles rippled with definition at the movement and Cloud thought he could practically see the red glow of her eyes from where he stood. She looked radiant. Radiant, tall, and powerful.

He returned Tifa's smile with a more timid version of his own. His gaze next slid over Aerith who was an immediately contrast to Tifa in every conceivable way. Her body was wrapped in a pink suit, and small, wavy ruffles adorned her chest, meanwhile there were two bows fastened on either side of the bottoms. It took a few moments to realize that the suit was the exact color of the ribbon in her braid. A smart choice! Aerith seemed more shy than Tifa did—her smile betrayed her, her slow grin a trickle of water compared to the raging river of Tifa's.

Cloud didn't stare, but it was clear at first glance that there were major differences between Tifa's body and Aerith's. Aerith was soft, the muscles on her bones covered with smooth, pale skin that was flawless. No scars, no abrasions or marks, just a vast, endless map of snow-white flesh. Aerith was fierce and protective and capable, but she was no warrior. Not like Tifa was, with the various, healed cuts that adorned her arms and legs from battle. Cloud tried not to think of what it'd feel like to run his fingers over the curve of Aerith's shoulders or wrists. Especially because both girls were watching his every move and where his eyes traveled.

He should have bought sunglasses.

Yuffie was the only one of the girls who looked bored. She didn't smile as Cloud approached, and her eyes only raked over his body once before she began picking the seaweed that clung to her suit. Yuffie's particular bathing suit was an emerald green. The top was a crochet wrap-around that was peasant-styled and hung off her shoulders, accentuating the graceful curve of her collar bones. The bottoms were also crochet and hugged her hips at high angles. If Cloud were to compare her body to Tifa and Aerith's, he'd classify her build as a runner's, with long, lean muscles that were neither prominent or missing, but instead a much more subtle version of Tifa's. Whereas Tifa was all power, Yuffie was all speed, and it showed. There was something to be said for the agility of a thief-ninja. Something unparalleled about it.

"Hey," Cloud said as he came to a stop in front of them. The ocean water was warm and inviting, rippling against his lower belly with gentle swells. Tifa and Aerith beamed at him while Yuffie simply smirked, her eyes watching how he clapped an uncomfortable hand to the back of his neck.

"Nice abs, leader," she said. She folded her arms across her chest and the straps of her bikini slipped minutely down her skin. "You're positively _dreamy_."

It was so obvious what she was trying to do. What she always tried to do. Which was make him more uncomfortable than he already was—and she was _good_ at it too. He tried not to glare at her but might have failed, he didn't know. Was the tightness in the center of his face an indicator that he was frowning? Yuffie said nothing but looked pleased with herself. Tifa and Aerith exchanged slow, nervous smiles. Great. Everyone was laughing at him.

He suddenly and excruciatingly regretted going swimming.

"Um… out of curiosity, how did you get those bathing suits anyway?" he asked them. "Where did you get the money?" Considering that Cloud was the one who always handled their finances, it was a strange occurrence to see such expensive, obviously designer-wear on the trio of girls.

Aerith spoke first. "Yuffie promised the cashier she'd cover his shift later tonight."

Cloud raised his eyebrows at that. "And to him, one shift was worth those three suits?" He shifted his eyes back to Yuffie. "You'd only be working a few hours, right?"

Yuffie nodded, seemingly unbothered by Cloud's concern. She fanned out her hair with both hands, tousling it until it lay messily across her forehead.

"…Interesting," was all Cloud said in response.

Tifa's face broke into a grin as Yuffie sighed. Honestly, it was terrifying being the only male among a group of women—in particular, these women. It was like you knew nothing that they did or that they were sitting on a treasure pile of information they'd only give to you as long as you danced for them. It was annoying, but it was more frightening than anything else. Seeing the friendship form between Tifa, Aerith, and Yuffie was nice to watch but it was also intimidating as hell. After a few moments of awkward silence, Yuffie at last relented and took pity on a wary Cloud.

"Oh, all right. The guy—Larbeight—has a date tonight with a tourist girl and he really wants to get laid, so we exchanged the suits for the rest of the shift. I essentially offered to take his place just so that he could get his rocks off, I guess. I know, I know. I might as well be a philanthropist."

Tifa was already giggling the moment Yuffie opened her mouth to speak but when she finished, she was bent over, heaving with the spasms of laughter that ripped through her. Aerith was likewise affected—she had her face in her hands and each shoulder rocked forward. Cloud didn't know if he was more impressed or disgusted by the bargain Yuffie'd struck. On the one hand, Larbeight getting "his rocks off" with anyone was the last mental image Cloud wanted to think about. But on the other hand, it was clear that Yuffie was a master of manipulation and that that particular ability would come in handy during their travels. If she knew how to haggle, well, let's just say it made for easier transactions in the future.

Cloud pursed his lips before replying because he wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh or frown. Maybe both.

"Yeah, I met Larbeight. Hell of a guy. Nice magazine he had, too."

Tifa and Aerith only laughed harder, and to his surprise, even Yuffie cracked a grin. "The pornography? Yeah, we saw that too. The poor guy must really be pent-up or something, I don't know. It's all a bit sad, frankly."

Cloud felt his mouth split open before he had a chance to modulate it. It was just so ridiculous—so like Yuffie to get herself into a situation like this.

"So!" she said, smacking her palms together.

Uh-oh. Nothing ever good happened when she did that.

"Who wants to play chicken?"

Aerith's hand shot straight into the air and she jumped up. Seawater splashed all around her, inadvertently wetting her face. She shook her head free of the droplets. "I do! I do!"

Yuffie next looked to Tifa, success already written across her face. For a moment, Tifa's eyes narrowed and she seemed to scowl at the idea of the game, but Yuffie's expression of triumph was too funny. Tifa rolled her eyes, exhaling sharply as she did. "Okay. Fine. I'll play."

"Excellent," Yuffie hissed. Her eyes shone bright with playfulness and she immediately darted forward towards Cloud. "I'm on Cloud's team!"

Cloud flinched as Yuffie rose up on her toes and threw an arm around her shoulder. Vaguely, he was aware of her body pressed to his, but her assumption that he was also playing took the forefront of his mind instead.

"Who said I was even playing?"

Yuffie tilted her gaze up to his. "I did. And Tifa. And Aerith. Right?" She cast each of them quick and furtive glances. While the both of them frowned at the casual contact between Yuffie and Cloud, Tifa and Aerith eventually smiled in unison, mischief coloring their eyes as Cloud was savagely rendered outnumbered.

"Right!"

"Yep."

Women.

Before he knew it, Yuffie's hands were on Cloud's shoulders, pushing him under the water. He supposed he could spare one game, right? He inhaled deeply and dropped to his knees, feeling the soft, muddy sand of the ocean floor dig into his knee-caps. In a matter of moments he felt Yuffie straddle his shoulders, slipping each leg over his chest with ease, and Cloud rose back up, straightening himself as he fastened his hands on her legs.

He felt Yuffie push the hair out of his eyes for him. "I always wondered what your hair looked like wet," she said happily. Blinking water, Cloud stifled a laugh and watched as Aerith similarly mounted Tifa.

"Um," he said, "Is this going to be fair?"

Tifa glowered darkly at Cloud's taunt and threw her knuckles into his sternum. Jolted by the force, Cloud stumbled backwards, and the laugh he just stifled spilled out of his throat.

"Worry about your own damn self!" Tifa shouted.

Aerith, like Yuffie, gently brushed away the strands of wet hair that stuck to Tifa's face and neck. "Yeah! You're awfully presumptuous for someone with a thief sitting astride your shoulders!"

"HEY!"

Yuffie's scream of defiance elicited laughter from all three of them.

"I didn't say that you were a _common_ thief!"

"No, but the implication was there!"

"Was not!"

"Consider your materia GONE, Aerith. You hear me? GONE. All mine now."

Yuffie slapped a palm against Cloud's cheek and pointed forward, toward Aerith's smug face.

"Charge!"

Not one to argue, Cloud lunged forward, steeling his fingers atop Yuffie's muscled calves. He felt the shudder of initial contact between her and Aerith as they grabbed each other's arms and thrashed. Cloud and Tifa engaged in a battle of their own beneath the water, as she struck out with her heel, landing blows against his shins and ankles. They exchanged wicked grins and Cloud ducked for a moment, taking water into his mouth only to spit it out at Tifa's face.

"Okay, gross!" she yelled. Tifa mimicked this and Cloud allowed the water to splash his face. He laughed and clutched onto Yuffie's legs tighter than before as he felt her start to waver.

"Don't let Aerith win, Yuffie! She called you a common thief!"

"I did not!"

"Did too!" Yuffie yelled.

With a savage shove, Yuffie disarmed Aerith entirely, and she toppled off Tifa's shoulders with a resounding splash. Tifa, yanked down by the force, also crashed into the water. Cloud raised a hand to Yuffie and she high-fived it eagerly, kicking her heels lightly into Cloud's pectoral muscles.

"In your face!" she said as Tifa and Aerith re-surfaced. "So much for a common thief."

As Tifa shook out her abundance of hair, Aerith sighed, adjusting the ruffles on her bikini top so that they lay flat against her chest. "I didn't call you a common thief!"

"Yeah, yeah. Semantics," Yuffie mumbled. Cloud allowed himself to laugh at her dismissal of Aerith, which earned him a glare.

"Oh, okay. Take her side, then!"

Cloud winked impishly at Aerith, "Is there even a side to take considering we already won?"

"Oh…good one, Cloud."

"Shut it, Yuffie."

"Come up here and _make_ me, Aerith."

Meanwhile, Tifa watched on with knowing eyes, and she cracked her knuckles while the two girls had their spat. She looked to Cloud next. "Man… Aerith doesn't take losing well, does she?"

"I heard that!"

Aerith splashed water into Tifa's face, and Tifa only grinned despite the salt water in her eyes. "Like I said," she sputtered, "A sore loser."

Cloud just thought it was cute. Or maybe the word was endearing. Either way, it was slightly like watching a toddler having their toy be taken away from them. It was good to see such normal interactions. There was no Sephiroth here. There was no time for exhaustion or paranoia or fear. There was only the ocean, the sun, and the food they'd get into later on. Cloud's stomach practically rumbled with longing.

"Want to play again?" he asked.

Aerith's green eyes lit up with opportunity and she practically jumped onto Tifa's back. "You're on."

"You know," Tifa said as Aerith climbed up her body, "You could _ask_."

The next game of chicken was more interesting as Aerith had more fight in her. She gripped Yuffie's hands and forearms with fury and jerked them back and forth without reprieve. Yuffie was strong but she became worn out, and as she slid off Cloud's shoulders, he somehow remained standing despite her fall.

"Nice job," he said to the two girls. Yuffie surfaced a moment later, dark, short hair clung to her face. Tifa and Aerith exchanged a high-five. They played several more games of chicken and the two girls on top soon became ravenous with revenge. Their arms burned with effort, their eyes blazed with indignation—they were relentless, pushing back and forth, striving to unseat the other with every fiber of their being. Frankly, it looked like good exercise.

When both Yuffie and Aerith tumbled off, Cloud stretched out his shoulders, hearing the joints pop in their sockets. "So… I'm ready to be done."

Tifa mirrored him, extending her elbows far in front of her. Her cheeks with red with exertion. "I am too. I am _so_ hungry."

"Same," Aerith said as she righted herself. She began squeezing the water out of her braid and checked that the pink ribbon in her hair had stayed put. "What are we going to do about dinner?"

Cloud shrugged. "We'll figure something out. I'm sure there's restaurants nearby."

"Hey," Yuffie whined, sticking out her lower lip. "What about me? I have to work! Don't I get dinner too?"

Aerith smoothed back the fringe from her face. "You could always _steal_ dinner."

"Aerith, do you _like_ your clothes? Because I'd shut up if I were you." Yuffie stared at her dangerously, her eyes like slits. Aerith simply smiled and stuck out her tongue.

"Just kidding!"

Tifa and Cloud, as usual, watched the exchange with an air of resignation. There was no stopping the two once the bickering began, but they usually settled things on their own. After awhile.

"We'll get you food," Tifa promised. Yuffie rolled her eyes at the attempt at diplomacy but seemed to accept this. Ever since that first night in Junon, Yuffie and Tifa had had a weird, silent understanding. Cloud thought that they admired each other's spirit in a strange way. Both girls were fiery and passionate. Both were stubborn as hell too. There was no convincing them about anything. Because of it, it was like they shared a kinship. The bond usually served Tifa well when she had to intervene between Yuffie and Aerith's fighting.

"We might as well start back towards the hotel," Cloud said. He raked each hand through his hair in a weak attempt to arrange the usual spikes back into order. "Where did you all put your clothes, anyway?"

"Beach," Tifa answered. "On some lawn chairs."

"Okay. I hid mine behind some rocks. Want to go now?"

The trio of girls all nodded assent and slowly—even, begrudgingly—they padded their way closer to shore.

"Hey guys," Aerith said, "Is that Larbeight with his date?"

And indeed—it was. On the beach, Larbeight and a young woman sat side by side on white beach chairs. She looked shy if anything, whereas he looked extremely comfortable with himself. He was shirtless and in trunks, and impressive slabs of muscle flexed on his stomach and chest whenever he moved. Larbeight hadn't looked that built from inside the shop, but it was clear he was an athlete.

By the time Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, and Yuffie had reached the ocean's edge, Larbeight had climbed into his date's chair and settled behind her. While she lay on her front, his hands glided over her shoulder blades as he began to massage her with his thumbs, working at her skin with easy, confident movements. The young woman looked a little abashed at the gesture but allowed the contact, although her shoulders remained high and stiff with tension.

"Is it just me or is he coming on a little too strong?" Tifa muttered. They all watched him with wary gazes, but when Cloud checked, it was Yuffie who looked the most upset. He could see that her teeth were gritted and her jaw locked; she looked as if she held something dangerous and unpleasant in her mouth.

"Yuffie, are you all right?" he asked. His voice was low and quiet, not wanting to be intrusive, but the emptiness on her face was downright alarming, like a sudden hurricane that washed over what was once a calm, ocean front.

Yuffie jerked her head up and down—too severely for it to be normal. "I'm fine." Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith all exchanged worried glances, but made no further comment.

They continued to watch as Larbeight became more and more insistent with his hands. At first, he only massaged his date's shoulders, but soon he became bolder, and worked his thumbs into the sides of her torso, near her breasts. The young woman stiffened further at the touch but did not push his hands away. Still, she looked so wound that it was uncomfortable to witness. It was clear that Larbeight took her silence as an indication that she was fine with his flirtatious touches. From their perspectives, however, it was clear that she wasn't.

Aerith's frown deepened as they finally came ashore. "Geez, he's forward. This is their first date, correct? That's what he said?"

"Yeah," Tifa replied. "Sure looks like it's off to a great start."

The sarcasm was heavy and palpable. Yuffie made no effort to comment—Cloud pretended like he wasn't watching her, but was.

"My clothes are over here," he said, gesturing to the pile of boulders west of the main beach. "Let me grab them real quick."

"Sure," Tifa said. "We'll get ours and then wait for you."

Her red eyes, dimmed with concern, watched Cloud strut off towards the small alcove of rocks. Aerith also followed him with her eyes, but they made their way to the chairs which featured their clothes draped across the tall backs. Yuffie was zeroed in on Larbeight the entire time they walked, a stony, blank expression that spoke of something barren etched deep into her features.

Cloud didn't take long. His strides were long and smooth, and he soon returned, his normal armor clutched in the crook between his wrist and elbow. "Okay," he said, "Let's find Barrett and Red XIII. See what they want for dinner."

He started off in the direction of the beaches entrance, where Larbeight and his date were. They sat in a chair east of the staircase which ascended into the main square, and hot, soft sand cushioned their soles as they all straggled in unison. Only Yuffie remained rigid, her skin so pale and wax-like that it betrayed her earlier words.

"Wait, Larbeight, stop."

They were near the staircase and subsequently, Larbeight and his date. At this distance, Cloud could see Larbeight's fingers lingering on the thin bikini strings tied around the back of the young woman's torso. He playfully pulled at them, threatening her with what looked like exposure.

"Babe, relax. They're in the way. If they're untied I can reach better," they all heard him say. His voice sounded like an oil vat—greasy and slick.

They all saw the young woman hesitate. She obvious wanted to make a good impression—why else would she put up with his behavior—but it was evident that she was torn between what she wanted to say and how she wanted to be perceived. Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith all averted their eyes away from the couple and began climbing the stairs, but Yuffie halted in her tracks, her eyes and face completely blank. She didn't even try to hide her staring.

"Yuffie?" Tifa hissed. Aerith and Cloud also paused in their ascent.

Larbeight tugged at the straps again, this time more insistently. "Trust me, okay? The massage will feel much better with them off. I'll tie them myself when I'm finished."

He waited for about half a millisecond before thumbing the strings again and yanking on one end of them. As the top visibly loosened, the fabric began to fall off the young woman who instinctively clutched the at the suit with her hands.

Yuffie darted forward, her clothes suddenly at a heap on the ground where she no longer stood.

"Hey!" Larbeight exclaimed.

So fast that nobody had seen it, Yuffie quickly encircled one of his wrists with her hand. She tugged viciously, pulling Larbeight completely out of his seat so that he stumbled over his feet before righting himself on the sand.

"What the fuck?"

Cold fury slashed Yuffie's face into a frightening mask that chilled Cloud's gut.

"Yuffie!"

"She told you no," Yuffie said. Her voice lashed out low and harsh, like a verbal whip. Incredulousness bloomed on Larbeight's face, filling it with color. Disbelief followed and then soon, rage.

"Mind your own business you miserable _bitch_. Aren't you supposed to be covering my shift? Or do I have to take back my merchandise?" His almond eyes were no longer soft but sharp and narrowed with anger, and he eyed Yuffie greedily, not bothering to conceal the lust in his eyes at his own idea. Aerith and Tifa were frozen, their mouths open with horror. Cloud prepared to intervene.

"You can try," was all Yuffie said in response.

"All right," Cloud said. "Yuffie, that's enough. Let's go."

Larbeight and Yuffie simply stared into each other's face—his blatant rage warring with the frigid, emptiness of her own expression. She watched as Larbeight deliberated on his decisions. He could either leave her and his date alone, or he could make good on his threat, and attempt to disrobe Yuffie in front of everyone.

She waited patiently for Larbeight to make a move. A full minute passed, but nothing happened.

Yuffie eyed Larbeight a last time and turned her back to leave with Cloud, who still waited for her on the staircase.

"Don't you turn your back on me, you little—"

Larbeight had lunged forward, but his outstretched hands never made contact with Yuffie's suit.

She whirled on the spot, striking out with her fist and launching it straight into the center of Larbeight's windpipe. He audibly choked and grabbed at his neck, doubling over, his next breath a loud gurgle.

Yuffie's mouth curled in disgust at the sound. Palming the back of Larbeight's head, Yuffie pushed down the same time she drove her knee upwards. She felt his nose break against her knee-cap, and blood, hot and dark, spurted everywhere. Larbeight collapsed to the ground, writhing into the sand, his face a swollen mess of gore and broken tissue. His hands still clutched his throat as he struggled to breathe.

Slowly, almost lazily, Yuffie's eyes lifted to where Larbeight's date sat on her chair. The young woman looked terrified, her eyes large saucers that exposed the white surrounding each iris.

"You okay?"

Shakily, the young woman nodded her head. Her frantic gaze flicked back and forth between Yuffie and Larbeight, who weakly jerked against the sand. "Thank you. I didn't know what to do…"

"I understand," Yuffie said. She spoke robotically, her voice as monotone as the rest of her face looked.

"Yuffie!" Cloud seethed. He bounded down the stairs, fear and outrage battling for domination on the expanse of his visage. "What was that?" He touched a hand to her shoulder, but Yuffie froze, and studied his hand with a withering glare. Cloud promptly removed his palm.

"What did you _do_?"

Yuffie met his probing eyes with an even, still countenance. "What does it look like?"

Cloud bit his tongue, wanting to say more, but knowing that now was not the time. "We should get out of here. Come on."

He stalked back towards Aerith and Tifa, who looked on with equally concerned gazes, their eyes and mouth blackened by tension lines.

"Yuffie," Aerith called out, "Please!" She beckoned with a hand. Yuffie swallowed thinly and shuffled towards the pile of her clothes laying neatly in the beach sand. Gathering them in her arms, she approached the staircase with a dull, dimmed consideration before heading back towards Larbeight.

She gazed down at him a long time. There was no hatred on her face, nor scorn, nor rage. There was only an absence of all emotion, and perhaps that was the most frightening thing of all.

She turned away, leaving Larbeight and his frozen date behind.

—

 **A/N:**

 **Whassup! God, this took so long to write. I've been agonizing over this chapter for like TWO weeks now. I think (and hope) that it's pretty clear what I'm setting up Yuffie's backstory to be, but if it isn't, you'll find out next chapter!**

 **Also, 100 points if you can tell me what FF game Larbeight is from :) Poor Larbeight. He makes a cameo and it had to be as a fuckboy. Still, if you were to tell me that a star blitzball player like him had manners, I wouldn't be inclined to believe you!**

 **Yuffie & Aerith though, uwu O.O**

 ******UPDATE**** It has come to my attention that the original cameo I wrote in (Wedge) was complete shit BECAUSE HE WAS ALREADY IN FF7 AND I FORGOT lmaooooo. Okay, my bad. When I think of Wedge I honestly JUST think about him in FFX (and no where else) and I hate him so… anyway! I switched Wedge with Larbeight because I hate him too! Oops! Please forgive me :)**


	12. Costa del Sol (CDS Part 3)

They didn't speak about Larbeight for the rest of the day.

The atmosphere between the three girls and Cloud was heavy with the weight of everything unspoken. Yuffie had moved so fast it was like she hadn't moved at all. If she'd been slower, if Cloud had been able to anticipate what was to happen, could he have changed anything?

… Would he have even wanted to?

It seemed like no one wanted to say it, but as far as Cloud was concerned, Larbeight got what he deserved. Perhaps that was what made it so un-say-able—the implication that he earned his beating by attempting to assault both Yuffie and his date. It wasn't that Cloud disapproved, on the contrary. It was that he—well, _no one_ really—had ever seen Yuffie like that before or watched how the boisterous, obnoxious young woman they all knew and loved turned to stone within a second's time. How the absence of light and warmth usually emanated by her eyes… left. Blank. Empty. Gone. There'd only been a cold, freezing rage—almost imperceptible—cut into the skin around her brows and mouth that was a testimony of emotion during the moments she ravaged Larbeight. And the speed—it was like she moved on some primal instinct within her, as if she'd practiced the routine a million times before. It was the implication behind her attack that was horrific, not the actual attack itself.

And the blood. It'd been everywhere. Even now, as they walked back to the hotel, Yuffie's entire right knee was smothered with dried, crusted blood. She didn't once look at it or seem bothered by Larbeight's gore on her own skin. There was no indication at all that Yuffie was still upset. She seemed normal. Quiet, but normal. They all were quiet, however.

When they arrived at their rooms, Barret and Red XIII were already in the largest suite, lounging on the old, dusty beds provided to them. Barret grinned as they all entered, but his grin slowly faltered after a long look at each of their faces. His gaze eventually dropped to the scarlet smeared all over Yuffie's legs and he leaped off the bed he sat on.

"What happened?"

Red XIII's ears perked to attention and his fur rose in agitation. "What did we miss?"

Cloud peered at both Barret and Red XIII for a moment before quickly allowing a sweep of the girls' faces. They all looked solemn, and Yuffie, impassive.

"Fight at the beach," Cloud said. "Not a big deal. Just unexpected."

Red XIII's luminous eyes narrowed in suspicion, and he growled instinctively, shifting his head towards Aerith. "Are you all right, Aerith?" Since Junon, the two had become close friends, sleeping together nearly every single night. Shock first passed over her face as she realized she was being addressed, but then an apologetic, warm smile took its place shortly afterwards.

"I'm okay, Red. Thank you."

Red XIII nodded.

"Well, shit," Barret said, displeasure darkening his voice, "You did win, right? Please tell me ya at least won."

Everyone froze when a giggle tumbled out of Yuffie's throat. Cloud bristled with adrenaline and he saw the surprise register both on Tifa and Aerith as well.

Yuffie ran her fingers through her hair, the bruises from her punch beginning to blossom blue and purple over the knuckles.

"Oh, we won, all right."

Her eyes flicked from Aerith, to Tifa, to Cloud like some secret promise unknowingly made between them. Hesitantly, Aerith and Tifa nodded assent, but Cloud simple watched, feeling slightly better after seeing Yuffie return to normal.

"YEAH!" Barret yelled, punching his arm-gun into the air. "We should celebrate then!"

Yuffie clapped her hands together, alarming Cloud all over again. When she did that, crazy stuff happened. "I concur."

Red XIII yawned hugely, exposing glistening, white rows of teeth in the suite's lowlight. "I'm starving," he mumbled. His voice was a gravel pit filled with sand. "I need to eat before I end up eating one of _you_." He then winked at Aerith who pressed a hand to her mouth, stifling a giggle.

Yuffie, still half-naked in her bathing suit, clutched her clothes tightly to her side and turned on her heel.

"Aa-nd that's my cue. Not trying to die tonight."

"Wait," Cloud said, making her pause. She raised an eyebrow at him as she hovered in the suite's doorway, looking positively unbothered. "Where are you going?"

"To the bar, to celebrate like Barret suggested."

"In that case, I'm going with ya!" Barret exclaimed. He trotted after Yuffie, and the sound of his footsteps on the creaky, wooden floor were like thunderous, cannon-like gunshots. It was a moment before they all spoke again.

"They have food at the bar, right?" Tifa asked. Her eyes were thoughtful, not too bright but not dimmed either. She, too, looked a little less disheveled than on the beach. It seemed like everyone was calming down in some degree or another and Cloud pondered her question as he rolled his neck around, popping the stiffness out of the muscles.

"I assume so. Is that where everyone wants to eat?"

Red XIII moved into a crouch before bounding off his bed in one, fluid motion. He came to a landing just in front of Aerith who immediately entangled her fingers in his mane. Annoyed by this, as usual, Red XIII nipped at her hand, discouraging the casual contact one would normally have with their pet. Aerith's mouth puckered before loosening with a smile. She knew how he felt about it.

"As long as there's food, I don't care. Let's go."

 **A/N: ohhhhh my FUCKING GOD it's been so long since I last posted. school got wild and it's just starting to calm down, so I really want to return to this story because I am NOT done with it. cluffie will endure! OKAY LET'S DO THIS *doesn't write for 6 more months lmao***


	13. A Curtain Of Silver Hair (CDS Part 4)

**A/N: hey my guys. listen up. i wrote this next chapter and it came out WAY longer than i thought it would. there's over 10k words lmaooo. so i'm splitting it up into a few pieces. but i wanted to WARN YOU and put a TRIGGER WARNING here.**

 **if you've read all of the chapters so far, you kind of know where Yuffie's story is headed. it's relatively brutal. the attack (the r**e) is only in her perspective, so no gross, disgusting details about anything... it's just what she felt in those moments. still, even though i did my best to be vague (there's _some_ detail, but i really only focus on the idea of her dissociating) if you are easily triggered, i don't recommend reading this chapter. if you want to know what happens in it though, please private message me and i'll be able to give you a trigger-free rundown, because this chapter is EXTREMELY important... so are the subsequent chapters.**

 **on another note, please know that i haven't played any of the other ff7 games besides the main one. so i have almost no knowledge of the Wutai War, yet i wrote about it anyway, making it up as i go and letting it fit into Yuffie's backstory. I also had to alter Yuffie's age because in this fic, she's as old as Cloud and the others. please just think of this universe as a parallel to the one in the game!**

 **okay... i think i've rambled long enough. please enjoy and as always, let me know what you think!**

By the time everyone got there, the bar was already a bustling entity, stocked with tourists of all ages and creeds who laughed and talked and drank loudly, without care of their surroundings. The lanterns on the wall glowed a soft yellow, highlighting the beige of the building and making the room into a giant gemstone with gleaming shadows that bounced off the floor and tables in strange shapes. As Cloud and the others walked in, they were momentarily annoyed by the amount of people already seated, but Yuffie had pushed past everyone and selected the giant table in the darkest, farthest corner of the bar. Her strides were confident and without hesitation, so Cloud, kind of ambivalent, followed after her while the rest of the group followed Cloud.

Several clusters of people grew silent as their eyes slid over Barret and Red XIII, suddenly unsure of their own safety as the two massive and powerful guys barreled their way over to the table Yuffie claimed. She'd folded her hands underneath her chin and seemingly gazed at every tourist she could until her stare flicked over towards Cloud. An ominous, secretive smile touched her lips as if she was remembering an inside joke between them. She'd been calm since Larbeight, but also… off. Cloud sensed a strange frigidity radiating off her, as if some cold, furious storm was brewing inside her organs and she was keeping them at bay with only the power of her will.

Now, countless hours later, the bar was nearly empty save for the sorrowful nursing their drinks at the long stretch of wood that barred entry to the plethora of glittering, tempting bottles stocked all over the wall. Everyone had gorged on their dinner—which, Cloud noted silently, was rather expensive—and the steaming plates of duck and exotic venison lay quiet in their bellies, rendering them dreary and tired.

"I feel like I could sleep for weeks," Barret mumbled, his massive hand curled around a glass full of bourbon. Tifa and Aerith had wrinkled their noses as they sipped on theirs, and later on they'd requested glasses of wine instead. Yuffie, however, had downed the sharp, tangy alcohol as if she had been drinking it every day for the last decade. Warmth and flush pooled in all of their cheeks, making Red's all the more… well, red.

"Here, here," added Tifa, pressing a hand to her cheek as she leaned on the table with her elbow. "It's so odd that we only realize how tired we all are after taking a day off from everything."

Aerith nodded slightly in agreement. "We definitely needed the time to recuperate, but maybe we do better when we don't stop. I don't know. We can't run around like this forever, but on the other hand, when we do relax, it almost… _hinders_ us."

"All the more reason to find Sephiroth as fast as we can," Cloud said. His body, though exhausted, felt soft and pliable, as if he could lay down anywhere and rest well. In his periphery, Yuffie had chugged half of her drink after the mention of Sephiroth. It couldn't be coincidence—there was something about Sephiroth that bothered Yuffie. Most of the time she acted as if he wasn't a big deal—wasn't strong or as fast as Cloud had said he was, and when she'd joined the team, she'd physically blanched when she was told the specifics of their quest, though the reaction was slight enough to escape detection form everyone else, except him.

On the other hand, the rest of the group always quieted when Sephiroth was brought up. It was a striking contrast—because they at least knew of the danger they were all in—and Cloud dwelled on these thoughts before Yuffie sighed—a sharp, gruff sound—and swung her legs up so that her feet rested on the edge of the long, large table. Everyone stiffened. Although she'd changed back into her regular clothes—so that she didn't walk around Costa del Sol practically naked—Larbeight's blood was still smeared all over her thigh and knee, crusted into a layer of brown gore that the lowlight of the bar caught on, twisting bleak beams of light all over it.

The feeling of softness in Cloud's body hardened immediately as Barret worked his jaw before asking, "So, are you gonna tell us what happened at the beach or what?"

Cloud cursed internally, and slowly, every so slightly, swiveled his gaze to Yuffie's face. She was staring at her drink with a determination that illuminated the flecks of gold deep inside her brown irises, making them something over then the solid color.

Tifa and Aerith looked like they wanted to answer the question for her, but Yuffie had already started talking by the time they'd opened their mouths to reply.

"Some back-water douchebag hit on his date, she said no, and he didn't care. I, being the guardian angel of helpless damsels, intervened and he swung at me. Broke his nose. Now he looks like the troll he is. Easy peasy."

Barret and Cloud exchanged glances, and Barrett finally shrugged, accepting the answer with a grace he normally did not have but somehow acquired at the ungodly hour of the night.

"Now, I have a question for you guys," Yuffie pressed, driving her gaze into Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith. "Why was I the first to react and the only one to help that girl?"

It was a blow to Cloud's gut that he'd been trying to dodge all day. She was right—Yuffie had reacted faster than the three of them, as they had done nothing but watched her with baited breath. Barret and Red bristled at the subtle accusation, developing a sudden interest in their drinks while the two girls fought the wave of guilt that had appeared on their faces.

What was Cloud's answer? That they'd never been in that situation before? That they were accustomed to killing monsters, not humans? That the entire scenario had made them feel so uncomfortable they wanted nothing to do with it? That it wasn't their business to begin with? That it was a private matter? And worst of all… maybe… just maybe, it hadn't seemed important enough in comparison to their search for Sephiroth? Bile churned in Cloud's stomach. Nothing seemed good enough because Cloud _knew_ that there was no good answer. He inhaled silently and deeply as they all grappled to respond.

Yuffie was content to wait. The accusation was a pillar of ice in her eyes, and she didn't speak again. She just glared at them with a coldness that was worse than any scolding she could have given them. It was a searing probe that stripped all three of them to the bone, grinding all of their insides to dust. What was worse was that she seemed to know this, and that was why she didn't bother to press them for an answer. Eventually, after several agonizing minutes, Yuffie released them from her glare and dropped it to the table. Her expression was calm and serene, but there was no way that there was anything but disappointment roaring right behind that mask.

"I understand," she said, and Cloud felt those two words destroy him. He didn't know Yuffie _that_ well, but he did know that she perceived almost everything around her. He had no doubt that her eyes had somehow found the weak excuses he'd thought of. The accusation, the glare… they'd both created an aura of thick, sickly rage, but it was her concession that hit the hardest. Her vague forgiveness hurt worse than anything from before. She knew they'd been wrong. She knew that they knew they'd been wrong. Without Yuffie intervening, who knows what Larbeight would have done to his date? Clearly, he'd been arrogant enough to undress her in public without consent, so what would he have done in private, when they were alone? Especially since the poor girl didn't know how to fight back on her own? It was obvious. Yuffie was a savior while he and Tifa and Aerith.. well, they'd been cowards.

And yet… Yuffie understood this and accepted them anyway. If there was one thing Cloud did not ever want to be, it was a coward. It was his worst fear—besides being weak—and something he could and would not tolerate or allow himself to be. The revelation that he'd become that for even just an instant rattled him. Unnerved, he glanced at Yuffie who was still staring into her glass of bourbon, though she must have felt his eyes on her because she returned his look. She held his gaze for a moment, and then smiled—a miniature, but warm, gesture.

Cloud almost threw up.

"No, Yuffie," Aerith said, startling all of them. "You're right. You… you're exactly right."

"Yes," Tifa said, her voice verging on a whisper.

Cloud nodded in assent.

Yuffie stuck her tongue against one cheek and remained silent. It was eerie—Yuffie loved to gloat and brag and boast about almost everything… but not here. Not now.

The atmosphere of the bar had become suffocating and Cloud felt like he needed five more drinks to feel that physical bliss and softness from before.

"Yuffie, something happened to you."

Shock stabbed into all of them, and Cloud's attention snapped to Aerith, who'd spoken. Her words weren't inflected or demanding, but a simple statement. Yuffie's head also snapped up, and Cloud felt a truth settle over him—if there was someone who perceived just as much as Yuffie did, it was Aerith. It was one of the things he liked about her. She saw things no one else did. She can pluck out information and truth from thin air, or so it seemed, and he didn't know why, but Cloud knew she was right.

Yuffie's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before settling into her mask of serenity. Cloud kind of expected her to reach over the table and slap Aerith across the face for what she said, for it was a statement, but it was also a probe on its own, feeling its way into Yuffie's innermost soul.

Cloud counted 79 seconds before Yuffie responded.

"Yeah."

Gentleness touched Aerith's eyes, melting them, while Tifa looked stricken. Barret and Red XIII remained impassive, but in a respectful way, as if they knew their input would not help or benefit the conversation in any manner. Cloud's mind was a swirl of confusion and guilt, but Yuffie's answer shook him even further. They'd all experienced horror—even torture—in some part of their lives, but what Yuffie was conceding to seemed to transcend all of their hurt. Not that their pain wasn't important too, but… this isn't something you can compare. It's a universe of evil all on its own.

Aerith's healing, tender eyes never left Yuffie's face. "Will you tell us about it?"

Another thunderbolt of incredulousness struck into all of their bodies. What was Aerith _doing?_

Yuffie, however, didn't seemed surprised by the question at all. "Why do you want to know about it?"

Aerith didn't hesitate, and somehow, it was as if a weird, insane respect for each other separated them from the rest of the group. Aerith, for her audacity and gentleness, and Yuffie for her transparency, which was as sharp as any sword Cloud had come across.

"You're my friend. You're everyone's friend here, and I want to know more about you." Aerith smiled a little as she finished. "I care about you. If you trusted me—us—enough to share your story, I think it would make all of us a lot closer and… I want that."

Tifa broke her silence and added, "I do too."

Yuffie's eyes flicked to Cloud's, and he felt strangled… trapped, afraid to say the wrong thing.

"Only if you want to, Yuffie," he eventually said. "You don't owe us anything. Especially after today." _Especially because of our cowardice,_ he thought.

Cloud didn't feel like smiling, but he managed to lift both sides of his mouth in a grim shadow of one. Yuffie nodded slowly as she thought, absentmindedly looking at each of them in a wordless scrutiny. She crossed her arms over her chest, feet still perched on the table, and reclined further into the booth.

"It will sicken you," she said, rolling out the kinks in her neck. "It'll make you uncomfortable, extremely so, and…" she trailed off, casting her attention towards Cloud, "It'll shock you." She seemed to say the last part only to him, and Cloud's brows furrowed in confusion. He unconsciously tilted his head.

Aerith, Tifa, Cloud, Barret, and Red XIII all swapped glances, their thoughts somehow in accordance.

"It's okay," Aerith encouraged, her voice soft and low. "We'll still be here for you afterwards. No one is going anywhere."

Yuffie frowned at this. She looked unconvinced. "I've only talked about it once before… I never thought I'd do it again." Leaning forward—and simultaneously demonstrating how flexible she was—Yuffie grabbed her drink off the table without bending her legs an inch. She swallowed a mouthful and tore off her headband before shaking out her hair with a quick twitch of her head.

"If I tell, and any of you treat me differently because of it, I'm gone."

They all nodded.

Yuffie gulped mouthful of bourbon. "Okay. Before I start, each of you are required to chug the last of your drinks," she said, eyeing the nearly empty collection of glasses on their table. "You'll need it."

Slowly, hesitantly, one by one, they did as she asked and Yuffie unexpectedly grinned to herself, finishing the last of her drink along with them. Small smiles dotted all of their faces at her demand, and Yuffie returned her glass to the table before reclining once more into the padded booth, folding her arms over her chest for comfort.

Silence pervaded the bar—a raging, burning absence of sound that was almost deafening. Cloud's heart raced in anticipation, though the bourbon warmed the rest of him, encouraging him to mimic Yuffie and recline back in his seat.

Yuffie noticed his adjustment and smirked. Then, she let it fade away, and raised her eyes to the ceiling.

"It happened during the Wutai war, when Shinra invaded. I was ten."

Ten. Cloud's face froze and he saw that everyone else's face dissolve into a similar expression, though Tifa and Red XIII looked absolutely outraged. Fire danced in their eyes. Aerith closed her eyes momentarily before swallowing hard. Barret—no doubt thinking about Marlene—paled.

Yuffie's eyes raked over them as if she expected this reaction and continued in an even, controlled voice. This time, she cast her eyes back onto her glass.

"The initial attacks on Wutai were messy, sloppy. Shinra didn't know the city as well as our people, and so we were able to resist at first and fight back with confidence. Then, Shinra changed tactics. Instead of search and destroy, they decided to raze everything to the ground. Buildings were torched and sacked, stores were broken and looted… it was complete chaos, but more effective than anything they'd tried before.

My father was a respected and prominent warrior in Wutai and so he was often gone from the house while he delegated tasks to the rest of our people. Since I was so young, I had no option but to hide myself as best I could. He told me to not come out of the house and to wait until the battles were over, which is then when he'd return home. Since Shinra targeted our most lucrative buildings—again, stores, temples, and such—I was expected to hide in our home where there was less of a chance of being sacked. Our warriors was fierce, and although they were clearly outnumbered and out-gunned, they resisted with a vengeance that Shinra had never seen before.

But, like before, when all failed, Shinra changed tactics once again. They began to target civilians in response. They began to torch homes and loot from them too, though mostly this was done to spite of Wutai's resilience. We didn't have enough warriors to protect every building in the city, so when the warrior's families were attacked, it caused even more outrage. More chaos."

Yuffie stuck her tongue against her cheek again. She looked like she was deliberating on how to continue, although it was clear where the story was heading. Cloud also tucked his arms over his chest, preparing himself for what was about to happen.

"Not all of the civilian homes were targeted, but mine was." Yuffie paused once more.

"I hid as best I could, but I was young and didn't know anything about war or how to survive it. I was in my room, cowering underneath my bed when I heard someone barge through the front door. I knew it wasn't my father because the footsteps were heavier than his—my father is too graceful and trained to ever make noise like that. I waited while the stranger—a SOLDIER, obviously—stomped around, searching for anything expensive or useful to steal, and eventually, he made his way into my room."

Cloud unconsciously expelled the breath he'd been holding.

"Obviously there was nothing in a child's room worth taking, but I was scared and crying, and he heard me. He dragged me out from underneath my bed by the ankle. I kicked and punched— the blows must have felt like pillows to this guy. I also yelled for help, but the noise of each battle is so loud, so who was there to hear me?"

Ten years old. Cloud wished he had a whole bottle of bourbon in front of him so he could swallow away the nausea broiling in his guts.

Shadows of the lanterns danced across Yuffie's face, making her look dark and wicked. She smiled to herself and cocked her head as she continued.

"I thought he was going to kill me, which would have devastated my father and collapsed the morale of the entire army. But, he didn't, and it was so strange. I still don't know what possesses a man to look at a child like that, but I guess he was just a freak of nature." Yuffie's brows lowered as if she truly was confused, even to this day... but her voice held and was steady. She never wavered.

Yuffie was _not_ a coward, Cloud realized.

"I'll spare you the goriest details because you idiots have enough imagination to picture what happened. It happened so fast, but the SOLDIER stripped me. I remember being terrified of course, but totally in ignorance of what was happening. Although, even though I didn't understand it, I knew what he was doing was wrong.

He didn't strip himself completely, just enough. At first, I resisted. I screamed until I tasted blood in my mouth, but the pain quickly overwhelmed everything. I couldn't even _think_. I've never experienced so much pain in my life… and I don't think I ever will again. It incapacitated me until I couldn't do anything but just _lay_ there. I cried and turned my head away from his. I stared at my teddy bear for a long time."

Cloud looked over towards Aerith and Tifa, who had tears streaming down their cheeks. Tifa looked murderous, like she wanted to kill and sob at the same time, whereas Aerith was all gentleness, and her eyes beheld an ocean of pain as she kept her attention on Yuffie. Yuffie cast them a quick smile, which they returned half-heartedly. Barret and Red XIII were more stoic, though the fur on the back of Red's body was raised and his claws were clenched, carving marks into the wood of his chair.

Yuffie shook out her hair again, and Cloud noticed the faint sheen of sweat covering her forehead and neck. She narrated her story as if she was the calmest person in the world, but he suspected that the stress of reliving this was destroying her body instead, all the while Yuffie hid the evidence away.

"I don't know how long it lasted, to be honest. I think when that happens to you, you lose all sense of time and space because the shock is so pervasive. All I focused on was my teddy bear and the pain racking my entire body, surrendering to it… and then someone else came into the house."

Yuffie's face froze, and her next breath was ragged. Whatever she was about to say was more upsetting than this, although Cloud didn't understand how that could be.

"These footsteps were soft… so soft that I knew it was someone extremely dangerous. No regular soldier pads like that, with strides as long and graceful as the ones I heard. The second intruder walked straight into my room as if he knew what was happening. I heard him pause in the doorway, but I couldn't see him because the first SOLDIER was still on top of me."

Yuffie closed her eyes.

"The first SOLDIER stopped, aware that he was being watched, and he turned his head towards the front of my room. I heard him gasp… and that was it. He was ripped off me with such force that it knocked me sideways. When I reoriented myself, although I was injured and blood was everywhere, I saw him. I saw him holding the first SOLDIER by the neck, an expression of the coldest and most distant fury I've ever seen on a person's face. He was my savior, but he could have been the angel of death for all I knew. We locked eyes and he spoke to me.

 _Cover your ears with your hands._

His voice was like music, but not a happy song. More of a strange, dark melody. Tears blurred my eyes but he shined like a star—his silver hair was a curtain of metal, his eyes, two blue fountains."

Cloud froze, his hands turning to fists against his chest while Aerith and Tifa straight up gasped. Barret leaned forward in his seat and Red XIII growled angrily.

Yuffie inhaled deeply. "I knew that I had to do what he said. And for a second, I swear, his eyes flashed with something like softness, or pity, though I easily could have imagined that part. Regardless, I knew who he was right away." She glanced at Cloud, who stared at her with so much tension in his body he thought he might shatter.

"I'd heard the stories. Everyone had."

Cloud stopped breathing and a loud keening noise sounded off in his head, like it would explode. _Don't say it, Yuffie._

Her ochre eyes slashed through his face as she spoke again.

"It was Sephiroth."

 **HAAAAA SURPRISE**

 **so, back in october, someone commented (HI HANNAH) that i should do a yuffie/seph fic aaaaaand i decided that i'm going to put it IN THIS ONE muahahhaahhaha. let me tell you, writing his character was haaaaard ok bye**


	14. A Curtain Of Silver Hair (CDS Part 5)

Cloud went limp in his chair. Sephiroth? Sephiroth saving Yuffie? Sephiroth saving _anyone?_

Something—an emotion—that looked like grief passed over his face, only angrier. Nothing made sense. And yet Cloud knew that Yuffie would never lie about something like this. He and Yuffie stared at each other for a long time, until Cloud nodded, urging her to continue. He _needed_ to hear more.

"Sephiroth dragged the first SOLDIER into the living room while he fought and screamed, his uniform still half undone. I obeyed what Sephiroth told me to do—I stuck my fingers in my ears as far as they could go, but I could still hear it all happen.

At first, there was just begging and pleading, until something _thudded_ to the ground. The thing didn't sound heavy, but it was still enough that I could hear. As I layed there, exposed and bleeding, the SOLDIER screamed again and again and started sobbing. Four more… things…fell to the floor. I counted. It all took awhile. There was so much _crying._ Eventually, the SOLDIER's screaming grew louder than I ever thought possible. He sounded like an animal, until his voice died out completely and something bigger than before hit the ground."

Then Yuffie shrugged to herself, as if to say, _it was what he deserved._

"I couldn't make sense of it until I was older. Five things in total. You just have to count to understand." Yuffie inhaled deeply.

"Sephiroth hacked off the SOLDIER's limbs, one by one… as well his… you know. Those were the things I heard falling to the ground. Sephiroth dismembered my attacker as slow as he could, while he was still alive."

A wave of emotions washed over Cloud—shock, disgust, disbelief, anger, and underneath, a fierce satisfaction. He couldn't figure out which one was the strongest, or the most moral, or if that even mattered. Still, Cloud had never heard of such punishment before. It was well-deserved, yes, but what kind of a person could _do_ that to someone else? Who could bring themselves to actually cut someone into pieces?

Apparently, Sephiroth.

"Even though I heard it all, I still had my eyes closed. Then I heard a strange, ripping noise. I felt something light and airy—a sheet—being draped over me. Sephiroth snatched it from my bed with so much force that it tore." Yuffie cocked her head to the side as she remembered, and Cloud couldn't help but admire her resilience while she did. "Even that—the light touch of fabric—felt like daggers on my body.

It startled me. I didn't know that he had even come back into my room, because as I said, he moved like a shadow. As he took my hands away from my ears, I opened my eyes.

Sephiroth—in all his glory I suppose—was kneeling beside me, and he looked absolutely pissed. I knew that my savior was _not_ a gentle person. He looked menacing and dangerous and like he could make anyone do anything if he wanted them to… and yet, the way he handled me suggested otherwise. I was so confused."

Cloud desired to shake his head no, to topple over this table at the thought of anything good being inside Sephiroth, but he just clenched his hands and forced the urge away. Yuffie wouldn't finish the story if he wrecked the place.

"Sephiroth looked me over, so much so that I thought he was going to repeat the first SOLDIER's attack. Now, I think it was because he was hesitant to interact with me, as if he'd never talked to a child before. I was so scared of him but so relieved at the same time—all I could do was look up at him. We've all seen him, so we know what his eyes look like. Bright and glowing, with pupils like a cat. They were chilling. He looked furious as he spoke to me again.

 _I know what it is like to have something done to your body against your will. This must never happen to you again._

I didn't know what he was going to do to me, but I nodded. To be honest, I would have agreed to anything he said. Obviously, I was in no position to resist anyone.

I began to feel tired and lethargic… I'd lost a lot of blood. It soaked the blanket upon me, revealing evidence of the attack." Yuffie clicked her tongue. She looked distant, like she was caught up in analyzing her own memories. "The blood was everywhere—all over my legs, thighs, knees, ankles… it flowed down like streams."

Instinctively, they all glanced at Yuffie's knee, still covered in Larbeight's gore. Cloud shivered. Yuffie watched him carefully, as if the rest of the story included him, which only made Cloud more afraid of what was to come next. Why did she look at him like that?

"Sephiroth took notice, of course. He still looked angry, but he placed one hand on my brow and one on my belly. I immediately recoiled from the contact, but Sephiroth glared at me with such authority… I forced myself to stay still. I can remember how gentle his hands were, how his gloves felt on my skin, with the sheet separating him from my body. He didn't make sense."

Yuffie looked at Cloud for confirmation, and he shrugged, equally confused as to why Sephiroth would help anyone other than himself.

"He used Curaga or something like it—even at ten years old I could sense how different he was. Whatever he did… it wasn't normal. It didn't look or feel like materia. It felt more like… _pure power._ I mean, it practically radiated off him. Warmth enveloped me as I felt all of my insides being knit back together. Now, I know that without him, I would have bled to death on my own floor. There'd been so much internal damage… I wouldn't have survived on my own."

Yuffie raked both hands through her sweaty hair, combing the sleek waves with each finger as if she desired to put it up.

"The whole process didn't take long. When Sephiroth was done, he rocked back on his heels and balanced himself on one knee. Then he spoke again.

 _Get dressed._

He wasn't mean or accusing or demanding—his voice was just full of... control. Slowly, he stood up and grabbed the pile of clothes next to me. He looked at me again—like he knew me—eyes bright and luminous. Then he walked out of the room, my clothes in hand. I didn't understand why he took them if he wanted me to get dressed, but now I see that he didn't want me to dress myself with the clothes I was attacked in. It was… a severe kindness."

At this, Yuffie stopped. Her eyes glistened with tears, shocking Cloud. Yuffie didn't cry… _ever._ He felt sweat dew upon his own neck and scalp and with distant disgust, remembered that he hadn't bathed at all today. Well, did the ocean count?

"Hold on," Yuffie said—more like choked—out, before heading towards the bartender. They all watched her leave but then turned back around and sat in silence, their gazes flickering from friend to friend. Cloud in particular studied Tifa and Aerith and could see the dry patches on their cheeks where tears had been earlier. The tracks of grief shined like pale snakes on their faces. He shook his head at them, not wanting to disrupt the silence, but needed to do something to convey his confusion.

 _I don't understand,_ his gesture read. Tifa leaned her head back against the wall behind the booth while Aerith looked meditative. So many emotions churned inside him. Rage for Yuffie, shock at Sephiroth's involvement, then rage again at anything Sephiroth-related, and more. He did feel sick, like Yuffie warned, but he also felt dangerously awake, like he could topple a mountain over if he tried. This didn't change anything about their quest, but it complicated things.

What did Yuffie feel for Sephiroth now?

Would… no, _could_ she kill him? Or would she hesitate and chance all of their lives in the process?

While he deliberated, Yuffie slipped back into her seat, another bottle of bourbon in her hands. She poured it into her glass, past the appropriate measure, until it was filled to the brim. Afterwards, she set the bottle in the middle of the table, but nobody reached for it.

She drained her drink until she needed to breath again and Cloud's brow tightened. He wanted to take the alcohol away from her, but knew that it was her right to drink as much as she wanted. And if there was anything Cloud learned by hearing her past, it was that trying to force Yuffie into anything but was a terrible… and _cruel_ idea.

"I felt completely healed, so I got up off the ground while clutching the sheet to my body. Blood still covered most of me and I wasn't too sure what to do about it… I ran to the bathroom as fast and as silently as I could, so Sephiroth wouldn't see," continued Yuffie. Her voice was steady once more, her eyes dry and focused—despite her inebriation.

"It took so long to wash all of it off. Once I did, however, I ran back into my room and put on whatever I could find. My clothes may have been backwards for all I knew. I was in shock, and I assume that's why I was able to do what Sephiroth told me without falling apart, even after what happened. In a way, being instructed was helpful because it gave me something else to focus on. I also remember feeling… light, as if I wasn't really inside my body at all, but was watching everything happen from the back of my head.

I walked out of my room, past the bathroom, and was almost to the living room when Sephiroth suddenly blocked my way. I tried to look around him… I spotted blood and the blue of a SOLDIER uniform somewhere behind him, but Sephiroth put one hand over my eyes. I couldn't see anything else. He pushed me towards the kitchen, past the living room, so I wouldn't see my attacker's mutilated body."

The hour must have been so late… the glow of the bar seemed to dim with every passing moment, so it was harder to read Yuffie in such little light, but Cloud could still see that talking about Sephiroth rattled her more than anything about her attack. Why was that? Was it because of fear? Idolization? ….. _Love?_

Several cracks pervaded the air as Yuffie popped her neck, rolling it from side to side. "Neither of us spoke for a long time. I climbed into one of the chairs at the kitchen table and wordlessly, Sephiroth found a cup on the counter and filled it with water from the tap. Then he sat opposite me at the table, nudging the cup towards me."

The more he heard, the more Cloud wanted to SCREAM. Sephiroth, saving anyone? Sephiroth, nurturing a child? No… he couldn't take this. Cloud closed his eyes. He didn't want to see Yuffie straining to relive all of this anymore, nor the expressions of pain and worry on Tifa and Aerith's faces.

Everything was so, so wrong.

But still, the story continued.

"I wasn't thirsty, but I drank the water anyway, trying not to stare at Sephiroth and failing miserably. He never took his eyes off me, and once again, he looked at me like he knew me or remembered me from somewhere. Why else would he stare so openly into my face? I think he was trying to see something. I think… now… that he was trying to see himself in… me."

I know what it is like to have something done to your body against your will. That was what he'd said to Yuffie. So, Sephiroth sympathized with her? That would make more sense than Sephiroth randomly growing a conscience, Cloud thought. Vicariously trying to save himself was more of a motive for this senseless saving than anything else Cloud could think of. Unexpectedly, a strange, soft sensation began to bubble towards the surface of his mind. It almost felt like… pity.

Cloud mentally slaughtered the emotion without another thought.

"This is when things get strange," Yuffie started, and Cloud wanted to laugh out loud. Things weren't strange already?

"We started talking to each other. Sephiroth even initiated the conversation.

 _How do you feel?_

There wasn't a trace of gentleness in his voice—which, at that moment—I desperately, desperately needed. But, he was all I had, so I ignored the urge to cry and focused only on his words.

 _Tired._

Sephiroth leaned back in his chair and tapped the surface of the table with one, gloved finger. His eyes were unfocused, and switched from gazing at his hand and then back to me again, like he was thinking. Questions by the thousands raced through my mind and I eventually spoke without even thinking of what he would do to me if I angered him.

 _Why… aren't you fighting?_

Everyone knew he was Shinra's best SOLDIER. The strongest, the toughest, the quickest. So, why did he bother with me at all? How did he know what was happening? How did he know which house was mine?

Sephiroth stared at me a long time, his finger paused and hovering above the table. He looked like a statue or something. Pft. Might as well have been for as cold and as beautiful he was."

Cloud, with his eyes still shut, cringed as she used the word beautiful to describe any part of his mortal enemy.

"He didn't do anything, though. Just stared at me and answered after awhile.

 _Good question. I ask myself a similar query all the time, except it's not 'why am I not fighting', but rather, why am I fighting at all?_

His honesty surprised me. Obviously, there were many rumors in the Planet about Sephiroth and his amazing abilities, but none of them suggested that he could be… normal. Blunt.

 _But… you fought….. him._

I knew that he knew what I meant. Sephiroth nodded extremely slowly, and his eyes seemed to burn brighter than even before.

 _He deserved worse. He had a reputation in SOLDIER for harboring… vile… urges._ Sephiroth paused there, scanning me up and down like I was a big bug or something. Nothing to want or desire like the other one.

 _I saw him approach this house, so I followed._

That answered a lot of my questions. Still… I was lucky."

 _Extremely so,_ Cloud thought to himself.

 _"I would have killed him anyway. If not today, then the next time he sought to satisfy himself._

He sounded as if he was debriefing me, as if nothing was odd or violent about his statement. I remember feeling… a lack of surprise at his words. I still felt like I was watching everything happen from a dark corner of my mind. At ten years old I should have been repelled by him… but I wasn't."

 _And you still aren't,_ Cloud added quietly. With his eyes closed, it was easier to imagine the scene. The house, the kitchen, little Yuffie in mismatched clothes sitting across the table from Sephiroth. Her expression of ambivalence and his aura of power and fear. Together, they looked like a team. A weird partnership.

Ugh.

Yuffie's voice interrupted the fresh nausea cooking in Cloud's stomach.

"A long time passed before we talked to each other again. He started.

 _You're weak._

He said this like it was obvious. I think I felt really mad at that, but the shock of the attack and the subsequent fatigue still overwhelmed me. So, I replied without thinking, as if the words were alive on their own.

 _I'm ten."_

Now that seemed right. Even as a child, Yuffie had a sharp tongue, huh? Was it wrong to want to laugh?

"I'll never forget it, but he smiled. It was so fast—so so fast, I barely saw. But I think I caught him off-guard. It was… the only time I've ever seen anything like happiness in his eyes."

Sephiroth, smiling?

What .. the .. fuck?

"Naturally, I was pleased with myself. Then he said—

 _Still. You need to be stronger. Learn to defend yourself. Men—all humans—are easy to dispatch if you know how. They all have the same weaknesses, the same frailness in their bodies._

I was confused… well, more so than before I guess. He spoke about humans as if he wasn't one of them, but I wasn't about to argue that. Sephiroth is different, that's a fact. And why did he care so much about my safety? The only thing I can think of it what I said before. He must have saw himself in me and craved to change the outcome." Yuffie's voice suddenly dropped so low, Cloud had to strain to hear what she said next.

"Maybe… deep down, he always knew he was a monster and he didn't want me to turn into one, too."

Something… dangerously like truth settled over them. Cloud could feel it without looking. It was… still. Quiet.

"Either way, I didn't really know what he meant, but again, I would have agreed to almost anything.

 _How do I get stronger?_

After I said that, his eyes slackened. It didn't look like he was tired, but that's the only word I can think of to describe what that softening was. Sephiroth tapped the table three more times and then slapped his palm flat against the surface. Looking back at it now, it's weird to think that someone like him has ticks… tells, whatever. He brought his free hand to his lips, tracing the lower one back and forth for awhile with his index finger. Why do I even remember all of this?

A pause. "Hm… maybe because it was so… surreal. Less like a memory and more like something branded into my mind. The attack was one thing, but my interactions with Sephiroth are still as clear as the day they happened…you guys can't imagine what it was like…

… Anyway, he'd made such a habit of studying me, it was easier to hold his gaze. I was getting used to it. Then he answered my question with confidence, like what I'd asked was stupid. It probably was.

 _You fight."_

Cloud thought about that. Was fighting really the only way to be strong? What about Aerith? She's no warrior, and she's the farthest thing from weak he's ever seen. Weren't there different types of strength? Does physical strength matter more than the other kinds?

Yuffie sighed, long and slow. It sounded like it was the first time she seemed exhausted by her own story.

"Then he got up from the table and eyed me like I was about to throw a tantrum or something. Because of that, I knew our conversation was over and he was about to leave.

 _Don't leave the kitchen,_ he told me. _Stay here until your father comes for you._

How did he know who my father was? Stupid question. He knew everything. He had to—it was strategy.

 _I'm going to assign a SOLDIER to guard this house._

I opened my mouth to protest and tears filled my eyes at the thought of any Shinra operative being near me, but Sephiroth interrupted me before I could say anything.

 _They won't come inside. I'll also issue another order declaring this house off-limits. As long as you stay here, you won't see another SOLDIER ever again. Do you understand me?_

I understood. And I cried as the shock slowly wore off on me. Sephiroth watched the tears slide down my face, neck, onto my shirt until his eyes flicked up to mine again. God, they were so alien and foreign and bright… To be honest, I didn't want him to leave. His frigidity was better than having no one, but I could tell that Sephiroth was not someone you begged to, so I kept my mouth shut. He looked at me for a long time, until I thought I'd pass out. Then—

 _Be strong._

But… it's not what you guys are thinking. It wasn't encouragement at all. It was a _command_. The anger had returned, hardening his eyes, his mouth. He started towards me and I thought he was going to hit me or kill me, but he looked down, blinked once, and touched his fingers just underneath my chin, gently jerking my head up as if to say, _hold your head up high… or remain weak."_

Cloud stifled another scream.

"Then he was… gone. Afterwards, my skin kind of burned where he touched it. I slipped back into my chair at the table and put my head down, blocking out all of the noise of the battle outside. It had seemed so quiet when Sephiroth was there, but without him, noise and fear and pain returned. I fell asleep like that, until my father came home and… well, I told him everything. I had to. With all of the blood in my room and then living room… he was… inconsolable."

 _Of course he was,_ Cloud thought. _I can't even begin to imagine the pain of that happening to my daughter._

"Apparently Sephiroth had cleaned up the SOLDIER's corpse before he'd left, though I hadn't heard anything to suggest it. I only learned this later on when I made a passing comment about it to my father, who then said that the body wasn't there when he got home. Just the blood and gore."

Cloud heard a scraping sound on the table's wood and then the clink of a glass being brought down on it again. Yuffie must have taken another drink. She had consumed so much alcohol by now… how was she still awake? And… lucid? Articulate?

"That was a really long story, I know. It's almost done," she said. She sounded as tired as Cloud felt, like they could both fall into comas and not have one care in the world. Cloud vehemently wished that this would happen. Like, right now.

"My father was reluctant to ever leave me alone after that, so he stationed Wutai warriors near the house, although, whenever Shinra attacked, one lone SOLDIER inexplicably always showed up with orders to guard the front door. Father was furious—he even tried attacking some of the SOLDIERs, but no matter how much he ranted and raved, one always returned the next time. So, he stationed more Wutai warriors near me just in case. I basically had an entire battalion protecting me.

The war lasted forever, or so it seemed. I guess in reality, it didn't, did it? Eventually, though, and completely out of the blue, a mercenary showed up at the house, scaring my father so much I thought he was going to kill the guy. He was tall and silver-haired and pale and had a long scar down the right side of his face. The mercenary explained that he also had orders to be there, to 'train the young girl until she becomes strong.' Yeah, it's what you think… Sephiroth sent him."

Cloud's eyes snapped open, blurry and unfocused—he thought he was looking at the leftovers of their dinner on the table but he couldn't be sure. He felt something wet cover his hands—blood had blossomed on Cloud's palms. He must have been clenching them so tightly that his nails broke the skin. Saving someone was already out of character for Sephiroth. But remotely overseeing the safety and ability of Yuffie as she trained?

Cloud wished he was dead, wished he would keel over and hit the floor so he wouldn't have to hear any of this and pretend like he wasn't about to punch literally everybody in sight. Reluctantly, he looked over at Yuffie, who already had her gaze fixed on him, like she could sense how much he was struggling.

 _Well_ , he thought, _I guess she could, considering she'd warned me that I would be "shocked."_

"So, I got private lessons. I never actually knew the guy's real name—he just had me call him Teacher. Every single day after that, he came to my house and we sparred. He never failed to show. Years went by. Slowly, but they did. I spent countless hours doing drills—drills to increase stamina, drills for strength and speed, drills to sharpen focus—and it didn't matter how young I was. If I messed up or failed a drill, I was disciplined. Teacher was never cruel… but he was firm. Annoyingly unrelenting. At first, I just hated him. Hated how he never let me give up or even just skip a day to rest.

My father had been suspicious about the entire arrangement, so at first, he sat in on the lessons. Soon enough though, even he could see how much I was improving—how complex and amazing Teacher's lessons were, which in turn, allowed me to learn how to defend myself from pretty much anyone. Father stopped supervising pretty quickly after that because it was obvious Teacher's methods were impeccable. He must have been the best mercenary around, I don't know, but under his regiment, I actually got… strong."

Cloud's eyes automatically raked over Yuffie's shoulders and her arms, and her legs, still propped on the table. There was no contesting what she said. Yuffie was strong, and it showed in every single battle, in every single muscle that defined her slight, athletic body. Momentary visions of Cosmo canyon passed through his mind, and he remembered the power in her body as she moved.

"Teacher is also the reason why I'm so much faster than all of you," she said, smiling. "He saw that my body was growing into that of a runner's, and he used that. I'm much faster than every warrior in Wutai too. On some days, Teacher had me race them from dawn until dusk, or until either one of us fainted."

Mostly everyone smiled with Yuffie, except for Cloud and Barrett. One look at Barrett told Cloud that he was completely shaken by her story, and he suspected that was because of how close it hit home for him. Barrett probably ached to rush home as fast as he could and scoop Marlene into his arms, just to make sure she was safe. He must really suffer being apart from her for so long…

"Sparring with Teacher is when I found out that I'm absolutely awful at using most weapons, like I told you—" and she nodded towards Tifa and Aerith, who outright grinned, though Cloud didn't know why, as he hadn't been there for that particular conversation. "—and was the one who suggested that I try a shiruken. The results were instant. Whether the shurikens were large or small, they felt like an extension of my limbs. I became proficient with throwing weapons of all kind. Daggers, darts… but the shuriken was still my favorite. I settled for a large one because it can be used for close-range combat as well, like chakrams.

At some point, and many years later after our weird introduction, Teacher told me that he was leaving. I was outraged, having bonded with him for so long—although he was nearly as cold and as distant as Sephiroth was—and demanded why. It reminded me of how I felt when Sephiroth left after our conversation in the kitchen.

Teacher simply said, 'You are strong enough now.' Which was true… because even in my late teenager years I could sometimes—though… rarely—best him in combat, but I guess the thought of having to be "strong" on my own without him was terrifying. The way he left was exactly like Sephiroth. No hugs or tears or anything like that, but he touched me on the chin with one hand, nodded at my father—who had come to see him off—and, poof. Gone. I never saw him or Sephiroth again."

Was there a note of longing in Yuffie's voice? Or had Cloud imagined it, scared that she still cared about him?

It was as if Yuffie had heard his thoughts. Like before, she directed her entire attention on him, making sure he knew that her next words were specific to their friendship.

"I know what Sephiroth did to you, and to Tifa," she said. Her voice was low and dark… it didn't sound like her at all.

"I know he killed your parents. I know how he ruined your lives. Still… don't ask me to hate him, Cloud. _Ever._ I know what we have to do, and I'm willing to do it. I understand that the Sephiroth we chase now isn't the one who saved me so long ago, and I'll help you kill him. I won't hesitate. You have my word. But, regardless of what we do to him and when, do not expect me to think of him in the same way you do, because I can't, and I won't."

Cloud bit his lip, wanting to shout at her, but stopped himself. He understood her position and why she maintained it, but it was so FRUSTRATING. Sephiroth was EVIL.

Yet… he had saved Yuffie. And in a strange, demented way… sort of… _raised her._

Yuffie released Cloud from her attention and fixed it back on the rest of group. She ignored their expressions of disdain and incredulousness. Tifa, in particular, looked offended.

"You dumb-dumbs know the rest. Wutai turned into a tourist attraction and eventually, I set off on my own, refusing to be a part of it. Then we met, we fought, and… here we all are."

Finally. The end of the story, of the horror and blood and monsters. It came abruptly, but it was oh so needed.

Everyone was visibly relieved. They all sagged in their chairs, exhausted from the inside out, and even Yuffie for all of her resilience looked a little shattered. Dark shadows had grown underneath her eyes and she was paler then normal. She leaned forward, eyeing her glass as if it were prey and she was the huntress, but wordlessly made the decision to leave it be. Good. Any more of the bourbon and she would probably pass out.

… Which might not have been the worst thing in the world, as Cloud suspected that no one would get any sleep tonight. Still, he would have to carry her back to the hotel and Cloud didn't think he could lift himself out of his own chair, never mind someone else.

The bar was completely empty, save for the bartender at the other end of the room. The last call must have been hours ago, although he'd made no move to kick them out. He simply sat on a stool and thumbed through a thick novel he laid flat on the long surface in front of him. Had he somehow figured out that they were in the middle of something important? Did he overhear any of that? Anxiety nipped at Cloud's nerves. No… he was too far away. Perhaps he just saw their expressions as the story went on and knew to leave them be.

Yeah. That was it.

Minutes had passed, and still, no one said a single word. Yuffie had devastated them all with her past, creating an un-holy atmosphere that ripped any thought of words or remarks from their minds, only to dissolve them into the air above.

Aerith, who was separated from Yuffie by Tifa's body, slowly reached over her and placed her palm on Yuffie's nearest forearm. The gesture was meant to be comforting, but Yuffie flinched, jolting so hard in her seat as if she'd been punched. Aerith's brows lifted, surprised, and she removed her hand from Yuffie's skin, letting it hover above instead.

Everyone watched as Yuffie thought to herself, deliberating, perhaps, if she could tolerate Aerith's touch. It seemed like the most important thing in the world, whether or not she would, and they remained silent, staring at the two girls with a crazed intensity. If Yuffie noticed, she didn't say anything.

Slowly, hesitantly, Yuffie took her other hand and encircled Aerith's, bringing it back down onto her forearm as if to say, _it's okay. I'm okay._

A smile began to form on Aerith's face, but she must have saw something in Yuffie's that upset her, because Aerith politely extracted herself soon after, fresh tears sliding down her cheeks. Yuffie swiftly looked away, her jaw clenching and unclenching.

Cloud guessed that Yuffie thought Aerith pitied her, and hated Aerith for it.

Exhaling smoothly, Yuffie straightened her spine and glanced at each one of them for a long time. Was she looking for something? A reason to stay with them, maybe?

Or even worse, a reason to leave?

Yuffie slid out of her booth with a grace that betrayed the fact she must have been annihilated by her inebriation. The familiar mask of ambivalence slipped over her face, and Cloud idly wondered if the perfection of the mask was a result of the trauma she'd faced as a child. She'd mentioned, during the attack, that she had somehow separated her attention away from the SOLDIER, and then during her conversation with Sephiroth, how she'd felt nothing but a physical lightness. Or did Teacher instill this defense mechanism in her—an unbreakable fortress of politeness that shut everyone else out, so she could protect herself from probing or unwanted attention?

Yuffie paused, taking time to look at them all in the face.

"Now you know," was all she said to to them. Yuffie promptly walked away and out of the bar completely. Cloud, praying for silent intervention, hoped that she was going back to the hotel and didn't desert them altogether.

He would miss her, he thought.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A/N: so... just watched an entire playthrough of crisis core on youtube, and okay. i wrote this chapter before watching CC, so i suppose it's canon that Genesis hasn't been a dick yet and told Seph that he's a mutant. like i've stated in previous chapters, though, let's just make this up as we go :) xoxo


	15. Skin and Gold (CDS Part 6)

The room spun around in circles so violent, Yuffie thought she would fall out of the bed. She knew she'd overdone it with the drinking and that tomorrow morning she would pay for it. It was fine. Whatever. Yuffie honestly didn't know if she could have done all of that without the bourbon. It was a memory she'd never shared before—except with her father—and she felt oddly jealous that now they all knew about it too, as if it was an object she had given them and immediately wanted back.

There was no back, though. It was finished. The end. Time for sleep.

The thought made her chuckle in the darkened bedroom of Costa del Sol's fancy hotel. Sleep? Sleep, at least for tonight, was a foreign concept. An exotic animal that she would chase and chase until she couldn't chase anymore. Sleep was a myth. A big, fat lie. Yuffie had exchanged sleep for telling her story—a bad, irresponsible transaction, now that the only thing she wanted was to close her eyes and forget today ever happened.

Upon entering the hotel, Yuffie went straight to the bathroom and washed herself, vigorously scrubbing off Larbeight's disgusting blood. She didn't want any part of him on her. She must have scrubbed too hard, however, because the skin stung, as if it was raw. Not that that mattered much.

It was like the inebriation slammed into her the moment she stepped out of the bar. After she was clean, she stumbled into the room she would share with Tifa, Aerith, and Red XIII, and collapsed on the bed nearest to the door—the right one, Yuffie thought. These beds were so much better than the ones at Junon. The sheets were like silk, and the comforter, maybe cashmere. Cloud must have had a stroke when he paid for their stay. Yuffie grinned to herself underneath the covers, her damp hair a messy fan that splayed across the pillow.

Cloud had looked so angry when she talked about Sephiroth… did he hate her now? Did he even trust her anymore? From the way he'd held himself—so stiffly, like stone—and the clenched fists, she didn't think so. Did she just ruin everything between all of them by telling them about her past? Would they now see her as stained or tainted— first by her attacker and then by Sephiroth, who all of them hated with a passion? Oh, god. They would never look at her in the same way. Everything was gone. She'd have to go home to Wutai, or to somewhere else where she'd be alone… again.

Yuffie couldn't bear the thoughts that raced through her mind. She began to cry, fisting the blankets in front of her until they formed a shape she could hold onto as her body shook with grief. Tears came easily and slid over her nose and cheeks, until they pooled in her ears. She cried for messing it all up, she cried for the ten year old who never got a childhood, she cried for being a monster and having a weird connection to Cloud's archenemy, she cried for Aerith, who'd looked at her like they both would break into pieces, and she cried for reasons she didn't know or couldn't discern. She hadn't cried in a long time, and so maybe she couldn't stop because things had built up so much inside of her.

Eventually, her eyes swelled a little and her throat ached with a thickness she couldn't get rid of. Her body convulsed in small spasms, racking her forward with each sob, depriving her of air she tried to grab at but couldn't, because her stupid grief was too powerful and wouldn't let her. She felt… helpless.

The one feeling she could not tolerate.

The door to the room clicked open, and Yuffie froze, still burrowed under the covers. She had to breathe though, and when she did, another sob slipped through her lips, betraying her and making it obvious to whoever entered that she was falling apart. Fine, then. Let them know. She was too tired to care.

Whoever was there didn't say anything. Instead, she heard footsteps approaching the bed. The comforter covering her was slowly peeled back and Yuffie only sagged more into the mattress, her eyes adjusting in the darkness. No one was there. They must have been behind her instead.

In one smooth motion, Yuffie felt the mattress depress with the weight of another person—it was someone relatively light, she could tell—and a gentle arm slipped over Yuffie's stomach. Normally, she would have defended herself from the unexpected contact, but she was tired and sad and exhausted.

Small piles of soft, full hair tickled her where they fell as the person adjusted themselves so that they were curling themselves around the back of Yuffie's body. The recognition was instant. Only one person had hair like this, which smelled like shampoo—they must have washed themselves as well—only one person who wore their hair completely down without a tie or headband at night.

Tifa.

That made sense. They always shared a bed together, as Red XIII and Aerith preferred their own.

Wordlessly, the two settled into a comfortable spoon position, and as time passed, Yuffie's stiffness melted away. Limb by limb, joint by joint, she loosened. She still cried—there was no way she was done—but the convulsions that came with her sobbing was partly absorbed by Tifa's embrace. Yuffie hesitantly pushed herself backwards, more into Tifa's body, and Tifa was silent but welcoming. She perched her chin on the back of Yuffie's shoulder, Tifa's breath a weak fan which tickled Yuffie's neck.

It was bizarre. They didn't even know each other that well. Yuffie knew all of this and normally would have put a stop to it, but if there was one night where she needed to be held—really, truly held, it was tonight. She hoped there would be no remarks about the platonic intimacy or jokes later on. Tonight was — should be — separated from every other night, Yuffie thought, frozen in time and placed far out of reach from the rest of the nights they would spend together, and also the ones they already had.

There was no evidence to support it, but Yuffie had a hunch that tonight would not be spoken of again. Unless, somehow it was necessary, but… everything would remain the same. The thought comforted Yuffie more than any other, and tears of relief mixed in with her tears of grief. Would she ever stop crying?

New footsteps entered the room and Yuffie knew who it was immediately. They were soft, so there was only one other person who it could be.

Aerith suddenly appeared on the side of the bed Yuffie faced. Even in the dark of the night, she appeared gentle rather than mysterious, and Yuffie watched with curiosity as Aerith climbed into the bed with her and Tifa. She was careful not to jostle anyone too much, and she settled in close to Yuffie, her green eyes heavy with fatigue. For some reason, the sight of Aerith made Yuffie want to cry ten times harder. Aerith somehow was the only one in the group who could slip past all of Yuffie's ambivalence, if she tried. The mask didn't work on her. She was like a beautiful, ornate knife that slipped through your ribs without you even knowing it until you dropped dead—graceful, powerful, knowing.

Three more sets of footsteps shuffled into the room and Yuffie's entire face furrowed in mass confusion. Were they all coming in to check on her?

Yuffie wasn't exactly sure how she felt about that.

Then, a new weight sprung on the tips Yuffie's feet, at the foot of the bed. The presence was extremely warm and soft, thrumming with energy. She could feel breath moving a belly up and down.

Red XIII.

Aerith smiled as she felt his presence nearby. Yuffie's sobs grew quieter as the bed was quite literally cocooned with warmth and flesh, triangulating her with pleasant pressure that her body wasn't repelled by. She felt swaddled like a child… like… how she used to feel back in Wutai, before the war…

She pressed one hand to her mouth to cover the sound of her crying. Over Aerith's shoulder, she saw Cloud and Barret stand at the lip of the bed. They did not move to touch Yuffie, but smiled wanly, doing their best to reassure her in a distant, yet personal way. She tried to smile back but failed, and settled for a jerky nod of the head.

Cloud and Barret climbed onto the other mattress, and Yuffie knew that they were used to having their own, meaning this was a sacrifice of comfort specifically as a show of support. They were there for her. Wholly and completely. All of them.

Nothing was messed up.

She was not alone.

As the guys settled, Aerith raised her hand, bringing it towards Yuffie's face. Unlike before, Yuffie did not shy or flinch away. Instead, Yuffie allowed the contact, making no protest.

Aerith's warm palm rested on her flesh, curving around her cheek and neck. A soothing, golden glow began to spread from her hand and enveloped Yuffie's entire body, stealing all of the tension and—Yuffie noted—the toxicity of the alcohol. The room slowly topped spinning. Yuffie knew what this was… a discipline Aerith had recently learned called _Breath of the Earth_. She'd never used it for anything other than to cure them of poison and other ailments, but perhaps her inebriation had been so severe that it qualified _as_ poison. It was not a happy thought.

The blessing eventually extended from Yuffie's body into Tifa's and Red's, and also backwards until Cloud and Barret were enveloped as well. Yuffie shut her eyes, drinking in the pleasant, safe, warmth cradling her in all directions. Her sobs lessened and the thickness in her throat started to dissipate, leaving more room for Yuffie to breathe. She inhaled smoothly, and her body felt instantly better.

Eventually, when the glow began to disappear, Yuffie looked into Aerith's eyes again. Although her own eyelids were so heavy she almost couldn't see, Yuffie thought that Aerith's looked kind and gentle, as usual. Not like how Sephiroth's had looked after the attack, but really, truly, kind. Aerith smiled. Yuffie followed after, and stretched out one palm between them, face up. She closed her eyes when Aerith laced her hand through hers, and then rested her other arm across Yuffie's waist, next to Tifa's. If she concentrated, Yuffie could feel Aerith's breath on her face.

The un-holy atmosphere of before was nowhere to be found in that room. Nothing else was welcomed, because the air was too clogged with immense energy for anything else to exist there—waves of love, comfort, security, honesty, and trust washed over all of them until their breathing slowed, and all of the horror of the day was no more. Aerith instinctively shifted, tangling one of her legs in between Yuffie and Tifa's, and the three girls fell asleep like that—bodies, breath, and limbs intertwined and woven together as if they had been one entity all along. Tonight, they fit themselves into their respective places, forming one mass of long, soft hair, calloused hands, and pale, skin upon skin upon skin.

Somehow, in the last moments before she lost consciousness, Yuffie figured out that she would never be alone again.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

so that's the end of yuffie's backstory :) i didn't plan this AT FIRST but i think there were a lot of hints i unintentionally dropped leading up to this: cloud being irate at don corneo (who wanted to traffic yuffie), yuffie not being scared of sephiroth and cloud being angry at that too, etc. buuuuuut it's over and yay and i hope you liked this one :D


	16. Between A Rock And A Hard Place (GG2)

Cloud stomped his way through Gongaga's woods, ugly, torturous thoughts racing inside his head. He tried desperately not to think about what'd happened hours earlier, but it's not like the forestry was of any help. Everything here looked like it was _dying_. It was probably a consequence of the reactor breaking down or something. Each cluster of shrubs, bushes — hell, even the moss was dried out and scaly-looking, as if the leaves had been formed with little teeth at the edges. Worse than that, the trees seemed off. There were hardly any that were thriving. All of them sported thin trunks and looked precariously on the edge of giving up and laying down. Still, Cloud was the one who'd volunteered to search for firewood, not that he'd have to look far since the entire expanse of woods was practically crumbling apart. He didn't think he could stand to be around Aerith and Tifa right now. Not after… well, whatever had happened in the village.

 _Didn't I tell you? He was my first love._

No. Nope, Aerith had _not_ mentioned being in love before. Not that she owed him that, because she didn't. Still, Cloud felt cheated somehow. Jealous. The thought of Aerith dating before Cloud was a shock, if he was being honest with himself. Ugh. Cloud swallowed down a wave of nausea as he thoughtlessly padded across a withering pile of dead leaves and twigs. Snapping sounds filled the air, and normally, that would have bothered Cloud, but right now he was too preoccupied with his own narcissism to notice how loud he was being.

And then to make it even worse.

 _Zack. SOLDIER 1st Class… same as Cloud._

Uh, NO. _Not_ the same as Cloud. Cloud would never abandon Aerith, nevermind his own parents. And for five years! What kind of a coward or deadbeat could do that and live with himself? Easy answer. Zack could. Not Cloud!

Cloud began to gather a pathetic pile of logs and fallen branches, cradling them in one arm that he tucked against his ribs. Though the woods were eerie and borderline-lifeless, the lack of a canopy allowed for a warm swath of sunlight to perforate in between the trees. A sickly sun, and dying woods. Maybe Zack had a point when leaving this place. Nothing actually seemed like it was healthy, or at the very least, moderately alive. However, abandoning Gongaga was one thing. Abandoning Aerith was completely different.

Aerith. She must have spent so much time worrying over Zack and wondering where he was. How many times had she cried over him? Did she still mourn him? If he really was SOLDIER 1st Class then he probably died on whatever mission he'd been sent on—assuming he'd deployed at all. Did Aerith suspect this as well and grieve for her long-lost love? Did Zack know about the flowers in the church? The pink ribbon in her hair? Her stubbornness, her loving nature, her endless compassion? Mental images of Aerith embracing someone else flooded his mind. Cloud pictured a brunette — he didn't know why — and winced. The thought, even just the image, hurt. But, he was in love with Tifa, right? Why was he dwelling on Aerith so much? Why did this upset him so?

 _That sounds just like you, leaving town and saying, 'I'm joining SOLDIER!'_

UGH.

Cloud, upon entering a small clearing, flung the firewood to the ground. He followed suit, unbuckling his buster sword and plopping onto the hard grass a moment later. He reclined until his back was pressed firmly against the forest floor, feeling the sun jabbing its weak rays into his eyes like an endless oath. Cloud threw an arm over his face.

"Oh my god. You're more dramatic than Vincent St. Beastie. Who would've thought?"

Cloud groaned, tension seeping into his every joint as he heard the intruder approach.

"Go away."

"Make me."

For one second, perhaps even a millisecond, Cloud thought that he might.

"What do you want?" he said instead. To cause trouble, no doubt. To torment him, to mock him, to make his life even more complicated than it was right now.

The dry grass crackled under Yuffie's feet as she approached him, but Cloud ignored this altogether — he still had his arm across his eyes.

"Camp got boring. Cait Sith tried to read everyone's fortunes again and I escaped before it was my turn. Although, I would like to see how compatible Vincent and I are…"

That almost made Cloud laugh. "I can tell you right now. Zero percent. Not a chance. I would sooner date Barret before you and Vincent ever hooked up." Ew. Both mental images were disturbing. Ugh. Great. See? She was already doing it. Yuffie couldn't help herself. She _had_ to mess with Cloud as much as she could, in any _way_ that she could.

Cloud tossed the disgusting thoughts away. "Besides, I thought Vincent irritated you."

Yuffie must have sat next to him, because he felt the vibrations where she landed, and then a faint warmth as her body settled nearby. She sighed. "He does. His whole 'woe is me' attitude is moronic. Poor me, poor Vincent. My girlfriend got knocked up by somebody else and now her son wants to obliterate the Planet. And somehow, inexplicably, without forcing her to get pregnant by another man, it's all MY fault! So now, instead of moving on, I'm going sleep for 20 years and grow out my hair until nobody can see my face because my innate level of angst is just too intense for the naked eye to bear."

Okay. He tried. Cloud really did try not to laugh or give Yuffie any satisfaction in making him do it, but he just couldn't hold it in. It was what she said, but also the _way_ she said it.

While Cloud laughed, he absentmindedly noticed that the sun felt warmer than just five minutes before. Was it Yuffie? Was Yuffie like a portable sun wherever she went? Unless the sickly, Gongaga sun suddenly had a change of heart, he couldn't come up with any other explanation. If Yuffie was the sun though, who was the moon? The stars?

Cloud heard her sigh again, as if she was the most burdened thing in the world. "Still," she said, "Despite his melancholic, self-centered, self-serving narcissism, Vincent is insanely hot. Like, magma hot. Furnace hot. Exploding star hot. Worst-sunburn-of-your-life hot. Buried in lava ho—"

"Okay, Yuffie. I get it. Vincent's hot. Still, you're not getting anywhere near him. Not in your lifetime at least."

There was a slight pause, and Cloud could almost _hear_ her pouting.

"Damn. You're right. Guess I'm stuck with you."

Hah! Stuck with? As if he was so terrible, as if he hadn't made her — _you know_ — on the floor of Cosmo Canyon's bar? Yes, how awful to be satisfied when asked, because she _had_ asked that night. And how awful that he'd let her back into the party after Wutai? Poor, poor, Yuffie. He must treat her so terribly. No wonder she's still pining after Vincent St. Beastie. Pft.

Cloud removed the arm from his face, and roughly threw it behind his head so that the grass poked into the back of his hand. He meant to glare at Yuffie, to whittle her snark into nothing but ash with his eyes, but she was already looking at him. As usual. A triumphant grin brightened her face and Cloud then knew that she was her own personal sun. It was as if her mouth was a lamp shade and when she smiled, the light from within permeated through, making her face into a brighter version of its usual self through nothing but osmosis.

It was odd. Aerith — like Yuffie — was also mischievous, but her mischief was of a subtler kind. Her quips were usually well-intentioned and never offensive at all. She was far too courteous to ever say something that would upset another person. As blunt as she was, Aerith's wit was more like a fine, thin rapier than something loud and heavy. You almost couldn't feel her cuts until somebody else pointed them out.

Tifa was rarely impish. There was a seriousness to her that set her apart from the other girls. Cloud knew that Tifa wasn't humorless or severe, but there was a maturity to her. An old disposition in the crook of her soul. She laughed just as much as the rest of them, and when she smiled it was as if nothing in Cloud's life had ever gone wrong at all. However, the jests and the teasing… they never really came from Tifa.

Yuffie, on the other hand —

Cloud's eyes narrowed into slits as they continued to stare each other down. So mischievous. So troublesome. He was about to retort something sarcastic, something along the lines of, _well you didn't seem stuck when you sauntered in and mounted me like a feline in heat_ — but thinking about sex only reminded him of why he was in a bad mood in the first place.

Zack.

"Ugh," Cloud moaned, turning his face back towards the sky. Maybe the Gongaga sun would make him sick as well and he'd die and not have to think about Zack with Aerith or Tifa, and Sephiroth could do whatever he pleased because at least Cloud would finally be getting some rest. Vincent definitely had the right idea. Sleeping for 20 years sounded pretty nice just about now.

"What are you grumbling about anyway?" Yuffie asked. She sounded whiny, as if a piece of candy had been taken away from her. Hah. No bantering today!

Cloud watched the sky and the thin, ghost-like clouds that sailed through the air like mist. "Zack. Aerith's 'first love.' And apparently Tifa knew him too, but I don't know how."

He knew he was being ridiculous for sulking like this, but he couldn't help it. He was hungry and tired and home-sick and mad and completely stressed out. How awful he be upset over something like this! How dare he be human!

"I have no idea what you're talking about. So, both your girlfriends dated a guy named Zack? And… what? You found this out in the village? How did that topic even come up?"

Cloud didn't really know. Zack's parents had just… thrown the question out there. Had they seen Zack? Did they even know him? Well, the answers were no and no, and hopefully those wouldn't change.

"I don't know. We met his parents, I guess. They asked if we'd seen Zack or if I knew him because he was apparently a 1st Class SOLDIER. That doesn't make sense though because if he was, I definitely would have run into him at some point. It's not like there's a lot of them out there."

He was still straining to remember, to recall if anybody in Shinra had been named Zack, but the sound of Yuffie laughing interrupted his train of thought. With a scowl, he glanced in her direction. She sat next to him, cross-legged, and shook out her hair.

"What is so funny?"

Yuffie bit her lip, eyeing him like he was something she was about to eat. "I just can't believe it. You three are all in love with each other and now there's a _fourth_ guy running around, threatening to steal both of your girlfriends away. Seriously, Cloud. Can this atrocity of a love triangle get any worse? Oops. _Sorry_ , I guess it's a quadrangle now."

Cloud's scowl deepened into a mask of utter fury as she continued to laugh at his discomfort. "No, it probably can't," he replied, bitter at the thought of more complications ruining his life. "Unless you dated him too. Ever been with a guy named Zack?" Cloud mentally hesitated, and swore he would impale himself on her shuriken if she said yes.

The question was meant to be facetious, but Cloud watched with horror as Yuffie actually thought about it. She chewed on the inside of her cheek, her eyes glued to the dry, crusty ground as if it would provide her with the right answer. Overhead, the sun still glowed like a diseased pendulum, though the weather was mild. Pleasant enough to be outside, at least. They probably wouldn't freeze to death in their sleep.

Unfortunately.

Yuffie stretched out her arms above her head, causing each shoulder to pop with the effort. "I never dated anyone named Zack, but I faintly remember this guy — named Zack — running around Wutai after the war. He messed around in a bunch of caves, looking for treasure — that was rightfully mine, thank you very much — and so we bumped into each other quite a few times. A lot actually."

Treasure hunting, huh? That didn't sound like any SOLDIER mission he'd been on. At least, not for a 1st class. Those were too important to send off on chicken chases. Unless that treasure was more than just treasure, of course. But still.

Cloud tried not to show how relieved he was, but his next inhale was too heavy to be casual. His body had tensed like steel while she searched for an answer, and now he had to figure out how to relax all over again. "Thank God," he mumbled to himself.

"Don't worry yourself, Cloud. Not everyone has been corrupted by this 'Zack.' I mean, my Zack was hot, but he kept trying to jack the treasure around Wutai, so I could have cared less about what he looked like. I would have kicked his ass if he'd stuck around long enough."

Cloud grumbled incoherently. Great. Zack was hot now. Good to know.

"What if he was to come back?" Yuffie asked, startling Cloud out of his own thoughts once more. "What do you think Aerith would do?"

His eyes flashed to Yuffie's in surprise, but she seemed sincere, like that question had been an actual question instead more mockery. It wasn't a particularly happy topic to explore, but it'd been what Cloud was thinking anyway. It was so strange how Yuffie could switch from being a pest to someone he could tell his deepest, darkest secrets to and not feel entirely uncomfortable doing so. All in the span of a second.

"I don't know. Aerith hasn't said anything about her feelings for me. But she said Zack was her first love. They probably spent more time together too," Cloud said. What a weird image — Aerith hanging out with another guy, flirting with him like she did with Cloud sometimes. "My guess is that she'd take him back. She'd agonize over it, sure, but in the end, your first love always has some kind of hold on you. I don't think she'd want to lose him again."

Five years. That's a long time away from your partner, but still. The reunion would be so climactic. How could anyone resist something like that?

Cloud might lose Aerith someday. Not that he was sure about what he felt for her, because he wasn't. He never had been. It wasn't like he was in love with her, at least, not yet. But what he could ascertain was a pull in her direction, like a magnet. Quiet, but strong enough to make him uncomfortably trapped, like something was forcing the two of them together. But then there were her eyes, so green…

He swallowed, the dryness in his mouth chasing the saliva all the way down his throat. "What do you think?" He looked up at Yuffie who looked at him back with a neutral expression.

Yuffie shrugged, both brows crinkling together before rising high upon her forehead. Her eyes looked like they were melting in the weak sunlight, as if the brown was stripping itself away from the iris, leaving green and gold. Hazel. A dark, golden ochre. There was so many colors there, how could they be described in one word?

"I think you're right," she said. "I think you'd be really sad for awhile, but you'd be all right. You'd have Tifa, which is who you really love. Or so you say."

There was nothing cruel about her words, but they punched Cloud in the gut, making his insides feel like they were curling in on themselves. What Yuffie said felt accurate. Even so, would he be able to completely get over Aerith? He wouldn't think about her while he was with Tifa, right?

"But," she added, "There's nothing to worry about anyway. It's been five years. He's _dead_. He has to be. Otherwise, what is he doing? Living off the grid? Why?"

It was like she pulled the questions straight out of Cloud's mind. "Yeah. I think he's dead too," Cloud replied. There was no joy in the thought, as jealous as he was. Aerith must have gone through hell when he didn't call or show up after so much time. Cloud would never celebrate something that made Aerith miserable.

A weird silence settled over the abysmal clearing as both Cloud and Yuffie retreated to their own thoughts. Dusk was rapidly approaching. The dying sun looked like it was finally giving out as it drooped towards the skyline of Gongaga. Cloud didn't know if sunsets could even be beautiful here, or the sun was strong enough to make one. Gongaga as a village was fine, if small. Smaller than Nibelheim. Which was… small. It was probably just the forestry around Gongaga that troubled him. Everything looked so _weak._

Cloud sorely missed Costa del Sol. He missed the blazing, vibrant sun, the turquoise ocean, the white sand, the golden kingdom of tourist shops and attractions that looked like something out of a child's picture book. Their adventures at Costa del Sol hadn't been particularly fun or happy, but the environment had been perfect. So relaxing. So much potential for rest and restoration.

"Wanna have sex?"

The question was fanciful and teasing, but Cloud almost choked on his own spit. What was it with Yuffie ruining the tranquility of Cloud's thoughts just as he got them to calm down? It was like she knew when to interrupt them — knew the exact moment of when to strike. Yuffie was undoubtedly a huntress. Ninja, yes. Thief, very much so. But huntress… she was that as well. Maybe a mental huntress. A psychic huntress. That had a good ring to it.

Cloud didn't bother to look at her, despite his shock at the question. The sky was becoming more indigo than blue, and several stars were visible despite the early hour of the night. He was reminded of earlier: if Yuffie was the sun, who was the moon, the stars, the galaxy?

"Yeah," he said.

His frankness surprised even him. He wasn't lying — he definitely wanted to. What happened at the Mako reactor was still lingering in the back of his mind like a siren, and if he was being truly honest, the revelation of Aerith having been in love with someone before him sort of relinquished… an obligation he felt towards her. It was strange. He still wanted her, liked her, desired to be with her, and especially ached to dwell in the emerald of her eyes.

Cloud also felt still felt jealous about Zack, but the day had put some things in perspective, like the fact that Aerith had had a life before him. It seemed like the most obvious thing in the world, but sometimes he could get so caught up in their love triangle that he couldn't see past it. Yes, Aerith was a complete person with a past. Just like him. Just like Tifa. The world did not revolve around him. Who would have thought?

Another thing Cloud realized was love didn't actually equate to commitment. Aerith loved Zack first, would always love Zack, but they didn't work out. Who's to say that he and Tifa would?

Ugh. _That_ thought was excruciating, but true nonetheless.

And if he somehow fell in love with Aerith as well, whoever he left behind — whether that be Aerith or Tifa, if they even still wanted him at that point — wouldn't have that commitment from him. Though, that wouldn't dampen his feelings for either one.

Selfish.

Love could be so selfish sometimes…

… but it shouldn't be. He shouldn't be.

Cloud was not ready for a commitment.

That was the lesson he'd learned today. It'd been harsh, abrupt, and painful, but the truth was always better than a lie.

… Right?

Cloud turned his head towards Yuffie and gazed at her with solemn eyes. "I do. But not right now."

Yuffie cocked her head at him and the shadows from the impending night covered one half of her face, making it look like a mask. Perhaps a mask of darkness. One side light, one side dark. An even, honest representation of how a person could be both — like him and his selfishness.

"Why not now?" she asked. Cloud marveled at how the shadow transformed her face, yet her eyes were as clear as ever, perhaps even more so in the unabashed focus of the darkness. Like the oppressive darkness provided just enough light for the sun inside her to show through.

Cloud sighed. He was so tired.

"I don't want to have sex with you after being upset about Tifa and Aerith. I don't want to project my jealousy of them onto you and then use sex to make myself feel better."

The thought made Cloud sick. Yuffie was her own woman and had complete autonomy. If she wanted to use that and pursue Cloud, that was fine. But Cloud, after Costa del Sol, did have an obligation to not use Yuffie in any way. Not for personal gain. And not in a sexual context.

Yuffie's face softened — dissolved, really, into a new mask of vulnerability. Her brows furrowed low, towards the bridge of her nose as if she was confused.

"That's… pretty decent of you."

The retort made Cloud laugh. "When have I ever not been decent with you?"

"Uh, at the Mako reactor when you accused me of being a Shinra spy, for one," she said, her facial features then tightening rearranging themselves into an expression of mockery.

"… Okay, besides that."

"I'm sure I could think of more."

Cloud ran his free hand over his face. He needed to wash it, to wash his body, to wash the entire day off him as if it was a putrid film covering him. He wanted to move on from it. From Zack. From love and his selfishness.

"Fair enough."

He suddenly sprung to his feet, kicking out his legs to get the circulation in them going again. He squatted a few times as well, using his arms for balance. Good. Warmth flushed his body, renewing it with energy and purpose. He felt better after that, but also after talking with Yuffie. Smiling at the turn in his mood, he reached down and offered her a hand, but she stood of her own accord, ignoring the gesture. Typical. She smirked at him as he shook his head.

"We should get back," Cloud said, searching the clearing for the firewood he'd thrown down. The slight darkness of the early night made it somewhat difficult, however. They'd been gone for quite a long time, but not so long that it would be suspicious. There was plenty of light to still see, though it was rapidly fading away.

Cloud hesitated. What would be suspicious is if he and Yuffie arrived at camp together, though it wasn't a secret that they were best friends. Maybe if he divided the pile and gave some of the wood to her… it would look as though she'd helped him scavenge for suitable pieces. Still… the deception. Wouldn't it be disrespectful to Yuffie? Playing secret, special friends?

Yuffie solved the dilemma for him. Even in the dusk he saw her roll her eyes at him, as if she thought he was stupid.

Which, she probably did.

"Give me some of that," she said, holding out an arm for the firewood. "I'll go back first and pretend I helped you or something."

Psychic huntress alert.

He suddenly felt bad. Like… there was something hot and acidic in his stomach. What was it?

Wordlessly, Cloud gave her half of the firewood he'd collected earlier while he raked her face over with his eyes. He searched for anger or sadness or a hint that she resented playing this secrecy game, but all he saw was The Mask. The polite one that shut everyone else out. It was so pleasant to look at — she looked graceful, like a meditative priest who knew all the answers in the world. After spending so much time with her, however, Cloud knew it meant she was hiding something. An emotion she didn't want to show.

Cloud would bet all his gil that it was anger.

Yuffie hated secrecy. She aways said what was on her mind, even if people didn't want to hear it. She held nothing back, pulled no punches. Yet, Cloud, by allowing her to maintain their ruse, was encouraging her to lie to the others. That acidic feeling pooled in his stomach, making it throb.

He would have been… okay… walking back to camp with her, but Yuffie sensed how he'd hesitated. _Okay_ was not comfortable, and Yuffie knew how tense and stressed out Cloud would be if Aerith or Tifa suspected them of anything… physical. Which meant Yuffie was sacrificing her own morals to ensure that _he_ felt comfortable…

Cloud's face turned to stone as Yuffie winked at him and shuffled in the direction of the camp. His entire body was rigid — he would have dropped his share of firewood if his body hadn't stilled as much as it did. His eyes never left Yuffie or the confident strides which led her out of the clearing. She, even in her unwilling subterfuge, was confident in herself. Even in the act of lying itself.

Shame. That was the thing boiling in Cloud's stomach, eating all of his organs one by one until nothing remained but poison and acid. He'd learned so much today — had made peace with his selfishness in how he handled Tifa and Aerith, how his love for them wasn't what it should be.

And yet, there was Yuffie, coddling his feelings so he wouldn't have to face the suspicion and judgment of others. Saving him from embarrassment. As usual. And he hadn't even seen how much she sacrificed for him because he'd been so focused on himself. So focused that she was willing to take accountability for the both of their actions combined. Actions he was also responsible for, but here he stood, allowing Yuffie to carve the way through their path of artifice… alone.

Had he really learned anything at all today?

Cloud frowned.

Shame.

It was shame he felt.

He was ashamed.


	17. Between A Rock And A Hard Place (GG3)

Why … in the heck… was sleep so hard for Cloud?

Why could he never just actually _rest?_

Good GOD.

Cloud's frown — an expression he'd been wearing for hours now — deepened as the night dwindled by, carving itself so viciously onto his face it was as if it was determined to draw blood. Eventually, he gave up altogether. When he turned his gaze to the sky and all of the constellations above, he watched as they twinkled at him like little reminders that they were content and happy while he was not. For a moment, he hated those stars. Hated how peaceful they were. Stupid stars. Go twinkle at somebody else.

It was like whenever Cloud shut his eyes, all he saw were nightmares. God, now he sounded like Vincent. But it was true. Visions of Sephiroth and fire and Nibelheim were so deeply etched into his mind that it was all he dreamed of. He could still smell the smoke and feel the heat. He could see his house turning to ash as vicious flames licked up and down its sides. By the time he realized what was happening, he knew his mother was dead.

 _I will always be your mother._

That's what she'd said to him. Her last words before she was killed.

No.

Before Sephiroth killed her.

Cloud squeezed his eyes shut. He didn't want to think about this anymore. He'd already spent a good amount of time dwelling in this pain. How much more was he to suffer? He needed to do something or think about something that would distract him, or at least dull the stabs of agony that prodded his insides. Watching the sky helped somewhat — after Cloud got over his stupid vendetta at the "happy stars," he began to identify the constellations he knew. Then he looked at the ones which were unfamiliar, gazing at the patterns and long stretches of sparkles that formed shapes he'd never learned about, but could still see anyway. It was strange how someone could not know what something was, but still see it. It was like the existence of a thing wasn't enough. It didn't matter how much you saw. If you didn't understand, you'd never get it, so you needed to understand. Otherwise, you would never be able to marvel or hate or love or be afraid of whatever you were looking at. For Cloud, the constellations were still beautiful… but unfortunately, part of that beauty was lost inside his own ignorance.

He slowly righted himself, lazily scanning the rest of the party. Everyone was asleep.

… That wasn't right.

Everyone usually traded being on watch, but whoever was supposed to be on their shift _clearly_ was not. Cloud did a headcount. Everyone was present. Cloud would have been annoyed at this careless — and frankly dangerous — mistake, but his frustration slowly faded when he realized that there was, in fact, one party member who was missing.

Of course she was.

Cloud shook his head, the spiky edges of his hair somewhat bent and limp from laying down. If there was one person who slept as little as he, it was the one who would actually benefit from some calm and relaxation. Anything to tone her down for a minute or two.

Or a second.

Yuffie hadn't displayed any signs of insomnia for the first few weeks they traveled, but it'd been steadily growing worse since Costa del Sol. Cloud suspected that her telling them about her past had unleashed the full force of the trauma upon her for the first time. She often woke up in a panic, breathless and wild-eyed like a trapped rabbit, but sometimes she woke up screaming, too. It didn't personally offend anyone because they all knew she had no control over her past and why it tormented her behind closed eyes… but it did wear on their morale. They needed to be as ready as they could be before confronting Sephiroth. Being sleep-deprived probably wouldn't increase their chances at a victorious outcome.

Yuffie's outbursts were fine and no one blamed her for them, but they also didn't argue when Yuffie occasionally volunteered to be on watch for the whole night. It wasn't healthy — maybe it wasn't even right to let her do it — but the rest of the party needed sleep as well.

Cloud thought about waking someone up at random, if only to have someone keep a lookout for danger, but decided against it. Let them rest. If he couldn't, then they should. Plus, this was a fairly safe location. He doubted they would be in any danger.

They'd camped on the outskirts of the Gongaga woods that night. Not deep enough into the forest where it was cramped and spaceless, but not so near the perimeter of the woods either. They didn't want to be too exposed as they rested. Everyone slept with one, relatively thin blanket over their bodies, and then used whatever they could find for pillows. Grass, hay, parts of their own clothing. Because they had to carry their own provisions, they couldn't afford luxurious items such as quilts or anything of moderate comfort, but the complaining was usually minimal. Tired was tired. Most of the party had no trouble falling asleep wherever they could.

As usual, Aerith and Nanaki slept together, curled side by side, their foreheads lightly touching — reminiscent of how twins sleep together in the womb. Nanaki's breath moved Aerith's fringe back and forth a little each time he exhaled, making each side of fringe a soft sailboat drifting along the ocean of her face. Cloud smiled as he felt his heart melt. Their friendship had been so instantaneous and they were still just as inseparable as they'd been that first night in Junon, when Cloud walked in on Nanaki sprawled across Aerith's bed. Cloud worried about Aerith a frightening amount, but it felt good to know she wasn't alone, even if he couldn't be there for her at times. Nanaki would always stay with Aerith.

The layout of the camp was predictable as always. Barret and Cid, Aerith and Nanaki, Tifa and Yuffie, Vincent and Cait Sith completely off on their own by the outskirts of the settlement, and Cloud, wherever he could find room.

Tifa's face was so soft as she slept. Her unbound hair fanned out in marvelous waves of brown so dark it looked black. One hand was extended towards Yuffie's usual spot, as if Tifa was reaching for her even in sleep. What Aerith and Yuffie had was intense and somewhat confusing — he couldn't really understand why the two got along as well as they did — but Cloud thought that Tifa harbored a slight possessiveness of Yuffie, as if Tifa were her older sister. Yuffie _did_ maintain a childish disposition most of the time… perhaps it was that which drew Tifa to be so protective, or maybe it was what happened in Costa del Sol. Or, maybe Yuffie reminded Tifa of a grown-up Marlene. Cloud didn't truly know. Either way, the sight of Tifa reaching out for someone who wasn't there drove weird pangs of tightness into his chest. What would Yuffie feel if she saw this?

Yuffie. Cloud knew where she was.

Unlike the sun, Gongaga's moon was full and spectacularly bright. There was nothing weak or sickly about the silvery beams shining down through the forest's — albeit, sad canopy. Cloud didn't even have to squint. He could see perfectly, and he breathed in the faint scent of trampled undergrowth as he made his way past the agriculture.

The night's air wasn't warm, and Cloud felt a slight chill creep along his arms, until it sank into the back of his neck. He should have brought his blanket. Whatever. He could warm himself if he needed to. A few set of squats and he'd be fine.

Cloud strode into the clearing he'd found earlier in the day, eyes still glued to the sky and its thousands of glittering natives. The clearing was infinitely more beautiful in the night. The dark hid away all of the trees' and shrubbery's sickness. The grass still didn't look soft or healthy, but the moon bathed it in a light so pale you couldn't tell that the blades weren't green. It was trickery of the most natural and exquisite sort.

Speaking of trickery…

Yuffie was a sliver of moonbeam as she leaned against a white-washed tree. The trunk was clearly aged, and the bark had been worn away, leaving behind a smooth expanse of flesh that felt like paper and would crumble in your hands. Cloud thought it was called a "beech" tree.

She looked at peace with her camp blanket wrapped securely around herself. She had to have heard him approach, nevertheless, she didn't move her gaze until Cloud was standing right in front of her. She, too, seemed mesmerized by Gongaga's sky, and probably wondered how such a horrific landscape could look so hauntingly delightful during the nighttime.

Cloud paused, staring down at her with a tired, slack expression. There were lines of fatigue that rimmed his eyes and mouth, but the cold helped keep him alert. Yuffie looked pretty much the same. When she looked at him, Cloud startled at the hue of her irises. It was as if the moon had sucked all the color out of them too, leaving nothing behind but a trace of molten brown. He was sure his eyes remained the same blue they always did, thanks to the Mako, but that was boring. Yuffie's eyes were dynamic in nature. They never stayed the same color! The only explanation for that was what Cloud had pondered about time and time again. There were too many variations of color in them for one word to suffice.

Cloud reached forward, taking the blanket from her before slowly encircling Yuffie's shoulders with his arms. Her skin was much warmer than his, reaffirming to Cloud that she was somehow the sun which kept everything else in place. He shivered as she wrapped her arms around his waist. Cloud fisted each side of the blanket, sheltering them from the chill in the air as he fastened his arms around her, the blanket acting as a thin shield. Then, like before at the Mako reactor, Cloud leaned them backwards until they both were pressed against the beech tree's trunk. Dying as it may be, the tree was strong enough to hold some of their weight. Surprising, to say the least.

For awhile, all they did was breathe and hold onto each other. It was enough to just be like that. To be part of the forest's silence. To be part of _any_ silence. Cloud's head eventually dropped, and he let it head rest in the crook between Yuffie's neck and shoulder. She positioned herself likewise, burying her face upon his bowed crown.

"Your hair is getting long," Cloud said. His voice was a breath in the quiet of the night, and even more so as it came out muffled from their makeshift cocoon. He'd noticed the length earlier in the day. When they'd first met, her hair was only inches below her chin. Now, the tips almost touched her shoulders. Yuffie looked fine either way of course, but Cloud kind of preferred the short hair. It set her apart. It was more _her_ and less like…

"I know," she said. Cloud was astonished at how gentle her response seemed. There was no trace of her usual mischievousness, no mocking edge that made her voice into a pointed weapon. She sounded like a regular girl. And, Cloud supposed she was, of course, but most of the time Yuffie was so outlandish that she seemed to transcend _regular girl_ , into something more like…

 _untouchable psychic huntress._

He rubbed his nose side to side against her neck, indulging in the softness of her skin just above her high-necked crop-top. Her pulse was steady, a soft throbbing that he could press his lips against. "Are you going to cut it?"

Yuffie chuckled, but with their words being so muffled, it came out like a huff of air, or a snort. "Why? Do you want me to?"

"Doesn't matter to me. You look good either way."

"Just good, huh?"

Cloud grinned. "Fine." He inhaled and thought for a moment, recalling the words in his head like a chant or some sort of gross, unholy prayer he never wished he'd heard in the first place.

"You look magma hot. Furnace hot. Exploding star hot. Worst-sunburn-of-your-life hot. Buried in lava hot."

Yuffie was already laughing after the word _magma_ , and Cloud struggled with coherency, fighting against fits of giggles the entire time. Their fatigue definitely did not help them as their laughter persisted for minutes. When they'd finally manage to calm down, either one of them would start giggling again, and it they'd go on for more minutes. They were like children at a sleepover, unable to fall asleep because one of them would disturb the effort, and the then rest would all laugh along with the first. Which usually ended up in a parent coming in the room to yell at the kids to keep it down.

There would be no one to come in and yell at them, though.

Cloud sighed against Yuffie's neck, feeling his cheeks moisten with the heat of his own breath. He pressed one kiss to her throat, and then another, and then worked his way up to her ear. At the slightest touch of his lips, Yuffie shivered underneath him, causing a rush of adrenaline to race through his limbs.

He'd wanted her for a long time, but it was so strange, because he hadn't known how attracted to her he was until Cosmo Canyon happened. It was odd to think about, how under his radar Yuffie had slipped. He'd been so focused on Tifa and Aerith and the stupid tension between the three of them — such unnecessary tension when their lives were all quite literally on the line as they fought to catch up with Sephiroth…

Honestly, the amount of irresponsibility was appalling.

"I owe you," he said, shifting his weight further into Yuffie's body.

"Owe me?" she asked. She sighed contentedly, arching up her neck for Cloud's mouth and tongue to access.

"Yeah," he mumbled between each kiss. "For being such a jerk earlier."

"Oh, you mean with the 'secret friends' thing?"

Cloud fought the urge not to grimace. "Mhm."

Yuffie shifted as well, pressing her palms into Cloud's back, holding him closer to her.

"It is a little pathetic to be honest, but I get it. No one can really afford to fight right now anyway."

Once again, no venom or any trace of animosity could be audibly heard in her words. She seemed to be… a much more serene version of herself. Was this what she was like when she was too tired to keep up the mask?

"You're right," was all he said in response.

Cloud grumbled contentedly as Yuffie turned her face to his, seeking and finding purchase with his mouth. They kissed slowly, lazily, with tongue sliding over lips and teeth in apathetic, easy circuits. It made Cloud tense and hard despite his fatigue — there was something much sexier about a slow kiss than a faster one, or maybe it was just Yuffie and finally being alone with her like this again… having someone to bear themselves to without worry or fear getting in the way.

Blood rushed underneath their skin, heating them from the inside out despite the chilly air. Cloud dropped one hand, sliding it down Yuffie's shirt and gently cupping where he felt her breast rise. Yuffie made a small noise of encouragement, and then Cloud dropped the other hand, moving both towards the front of her shorts. The thin partition of the blanket slid silently to the ground, but no one moved or gave any indication that they cared. Yuffie's shorts slipped off her hips easily and she hurriedly kicked them to her ankles before stepping out of them completely. Cloud nearly gasped with excitement. He managed to reign in his breath as he swooped down once again, cupping Yuffie's face in his hands and kissing her deeply before sinking to his knees.

"Why do you always keep the top button open?" Cloud whispered against her naked thighs. Yuffie shivered again, jolting her body closer to him with the movement.

He looked up when a small laugh rang out. She was smiling, her face tilted to the sky — not to him at all — and silver-washed with absent, quiet moonlight that cast the contours of her jaw and nose into shadows.

Radiant.

"It's cuter. Sexier," she said, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. "I also bloat less, and can therefore eat more than if it were buttoned all the way."

Cloud hadn't expected to laugh at her answer, but he momentarily halted all kissing until the giggles from earlier — as Yuffie had started up again as well — dwindled down.

"Makes sense."

"Yup."

In one fluid movement, Cloud hoisted one of her legs onto his shoulder while simultaneously sliding forward, positioning himself in between her. Yuffie squealed with surprise and caught herself on the frail bark of the tree with her hands, sending thin-membraned flecks of it down onto Cloud's hair.

"Hey!"

"Oops," she said, a giant grin stretching her mouth. "Sorry." Yuffie proceeded to tousle his hair free of the debris, taking extra time to play with the limp strands of hair that flowed over his ear.

And then…

Nothin'.

The only audible sound were the forest animals — chipmunks, squirrels, other, more exotic creatures — rustling about in the crunchy grass. Thankfully, there wasn't a wind to enhance the night's frigidity, and there was certainly no one else around them. No footsteps or breaths, apart from their own.

Yuffie frowned, tearing her face away from the moon so that she could see Cloud beneath her.

"What's wrong?"

She attempted to extract the leg draped over his shoulder but Cloud held it tightly, his head still bowed. Slowly — reluctantly, it seemed — he inclined his face until he met Yuffie's gaze. There was something in his eyes like fear, but less severe, more like… trepidation?

"Cloud?"

And then Cloud chuckled, a single, sharp sound. Yuffie noticed the skin surrounding his Mako eyes tighten minutely.

"Um… this is embarrassing, but I'm going to need some help here."

Both brows shot to the top of Yuffie's forehead as she considered his words. Given the circumstances and their positions, however, it didn't take long for the connection to be made. She chuckled as well, relaxing her alert body into the tree trunk now that she knew what the problem was.

"First time?"

Cloud swallowed thickly and bit the inside of his cheek. "No. Not at all. But it doesn't ever seem to get any easier either." He opened his mouth to say something else, but then ducked in and began tracing his tongue on the inside edge of a thigh.

If Yuffie had been less tired, she probably would have made fun of him for this… but she _was_ tired, and not quite as eager to humiliate Cloud's vulnerability than if she were well-rested.

"Everyone likes it differently," was all she said as Cloud continued to probe the flesh between her legs with his tongue.

When Cloud hummed in agreement, Yuffie's next exhale was a slice of breath.

"Hence… _help_ ," Cloud murmured.

He slid his free hand — the one not hoisting Yuffie's leg over his shoulder — up the front of her thigh as he experimented with his lips and teeth further in. He splayed his fingers open, covering as much of her skin as he could, but kept his touch light, like feathers. Yuffie inhaled shakily.

"You're doing better than you think," Yuffie said, tipping her head back into the tree's wood. Moonlight poured onto her face once more, and she gazed at the moon high in the sky, so much more beautiful than its sun counterpart.

"Well, what's your first instinct? In general, whenever we've been together, you seem to prefer a slow rhythm…"

Cloud smiled against her flesh and she felt it. Yuffie shivered as he blew warm breath onto her. It was so paradoxical — in everyday life, Cloud was strong, but _such_ a bumbling idiot. During sex however, he was much more… _capable_ than one would imagine.

Or than Yuffie would imagine. Whatever.

Cloud probed Yuffie with the tip of his tongue, taking care to trace lazy circles and lines into her. Yuffie gasped loudly, bringing with the breath icy air that filled her lungs. His tongue felt like a soft, hot lancet, spear-headed with pleasure bombs that detonated on the border of her own skin. She kept one hair entangled in his hair while the other clasped over his fingers which snaked around the top of her thigh. She could feel her body become simultaneously tense and loose as he worked on her, and she closed her eyes, heavy with the demand of sleep as they already were.

"What's the point of sex if you just rush through it?" Cloud mumbled seconds later. It took awhile for Yuffie to process that he'd said something, so enraptured in his service as she was.

He continued his thought after shifting his free hand closer to his mouth. "I like to feel my partner. Memorize them. Maximize their pleasure…"

Yuffie shuddered every time Cloud's lips came together to form a _m_. Maximize indeed.

She exhaled slowly, bringing the hand in Cloud's hair round to the side of his head, near his earlobe. She began to trace the shell with a single fingertip, scratching her nail up and down the gentle curve where flesh met cartilage. Cloud's next exhale was a shaky rattle, and Yuffie smiled in victory.

The moon was so alive in the sky, a radiator of dusty light, but everything vanished when Cloud slipped a digit inside of Yuffie, smoothly and without hesitation. She moaned through closed lips, her brow wrinkling at the intensely correct development, and felt a wave of heat curl itself into a knot at the base of her belly as Cloud tenderly stroked the inside of her front wall — all the while remaining in perfect sync with his tongue.

Yuffie frowned in momentary confusion. "What do you mean you 'need some help?' You know exactly what you're doing. What's with the lying?"

She squirmed as he added a second finger and coaxed the slick muscles inside of herself into submission.

Cloud grinned to himself, the lines around his eyes slackening with mischief. "It all came back to me. No big deal."

Yuffie snorted out another breath, too preoccupied to deal with his sass. "Sure it did." Then she shifted, bringing one foot in between Cloud's own legs. When the top of her boot gently collided with something shaft-shaped and hard, Yuffie giggled.

"You have to admit, it is _kind of_ big."

Cloud yelped in surprise, breaking contact with Yuffie's flesh in order to stare up at her. When she winked at him, blood rushed to his cheeks, and he decidedly ducked his head back down rather than make a reply. So modest!

All subsequent thoughts were focused on Cloud and how _big_ he was. That is to say, the feeling of him inside her, thrusting with purpose, the way his mouth tasted of wine — the entirety of Cosmo Canyon, really. She knew that he thought about it too, despite being in love with two women or whatever that was. Somehow, that stupid love triangle made her and Cloud and all of their secrecy all the more interesting. It — they —were taboo, more carnal than if everyone knew.

Just thinking about it flushed even more blood straight into space where tongue met flesh. Yuffie sighed contentedly, tilting her hips up so that more of her was exposed than even before. Cloud understood and serviced her greedily, paying extra attention to the softest, wettest folds of Yuffie's body. Her sighs eventually changed into moans, and Cloud could hear her breathing become more erratic, like cut glass.

Cloud swore the moonlight was warm. Or, maybe it was just the intense, ridiculous heat emanating from the both of them. The back of Cloud's neck was damp with excitement, and he dared a glance upwards as he crooked his fingers along the grooviest, indentured parts inside Yuffie.

"Cloud," she breathed, the ends of her hair infused with sweat.

Cloud smirked. In a way, this was a victory over Yuffie and all of her sarcasm, her nit-picking, her teasing. She was his like this — writhing, glistening with sweat. There was no barbed insult on her lips when all she could think of was what Cloud was doing to her. For once, she said his name not to rebuke or torment him for something, but to praise him. And that was worth all of the bullshit he'd put up from her.

Cloud concentrated on his hands, using them to touch and probe Yuffie with the lightest of flutters. While one continuously glided over the span of her thigh, he used the other to delve in and out of Yuffie's core, tantalizing all of her edges and curves with gentle flourishes.

He kept a close eye on her climax, taking pleasure in the gyration of herself against his face, cloaking the both of them in her pleasure. Yuffie was panting, scratching at the bark of the tree she leaned on, and tearing through her lower lip with meddlesome teeth as Cloud continued to coax the climax out of her. It was him laughing to himself that did it — the force of the staccato breath loosed out of him and onto her flesh combined with the massaging of his fingertips caused Yuffie to shudder once and stiffen like steel.

Yuffie froze, all muscles locked in place and the tidal wave of fire and starlight coalesced together inside her, until everything exploded. She whimpered out, her mouth open in a strange kind of a plea — a plea for the orgasm to never end, perhaps, and choked on an exhale that never came… so intense was the peak. Her lips remained open, eyes snapped shut.

Cloud was patient, never pausing in his endeavors until he felt Yuffie's entire frame melt, sagging downwards from fatigue. He withdrew his slicked hands and steadied her waist, rising up to his feet with a stupid grin written all over his visage. Yuffie scowled slightly but then laughed sleepily, the tips of her hair soaked with sweat.

"It's getting hard to make fun of you when you're so good at sex," she said, her voice low, fatigued with pleasure. She hummed softly and reached out with a hand to cradle Cloud's length, which poked out from underneath his pants.

Cloud stirred at the contact. "I guess we'll just have to keep doing it then. Anything to shut you up," he teased.

The both of them smiled. "Maybe. Speaking of hard," Yuffie murmured, her eyes suddenly narrowed with desire. She shuffled forward, closing the space between them, until her breasts lightly scraped along his chest plate. Cloud looked down at her, _want_ inscribed in the dilated pupils of his eyes, making them darker, less like themselves.

Yuffie ran her fingers over him, down to the base and up again until Cloud shuddered and grasped her wrist with one hand. Confusion blossomed on her face.

"You don't want to?"

Of course he did! _Of course I do,_ Cloud wanted to scream. He wanted to take Yuffie, spin her round and press them both against that damned tree. He wanted to be inside of her and outside of her and make her writhe until she was a mewling mess. But…

"I owed you one," was what Cloud said instead, a tight smirk indicative of how tough it was to let it end like this.

Yuffie paused, scanning Cloud's face until she realized what he meant.

"You gave me an orgasm as _payment_ for earlier?" Her voice rose to an incredible timbre, like screeching metal.

Was this bad? Was she mad? Was that not the right thing to do?

But then Yuffie dissolved into laughter — a laughter so full it pitched her forward until she fell into Cloud. His arms immediately caught her, nestled her into him, and they were holding each other again, just like before.

"You are so weird," she giggled, her cheeks bright with mirth in the moonlight.

Cloud sighed. He would never be free of her negging.

"Yeah, you're welcome," was all he said.

She didn't stop laughing, not once, and it became so long and so ridiculous that Cloud concluded it was time for the both of them to sleep. After retrieving the blanket, Cloud motioned for Yuffie to go back with him. She acquiesced of course, too satisfied and too tired to decline, and after he stretched out his hand, she took it, and then shuffled back to normalcy, away from the clearing and the moonlight, together.

* * *

i know i know i know, this took so long omg. life got BUSY but i will NEVER give up on this story so thank u everyone for ur patience, god bless, bless up, stan bts, and lemme know what ya'll think! woo-wee i think the next few chapters need to be shorter oml xoxo


	18. The Kid & Cid

"You know what you're doing there, kid?"

Ugh. It was the walk of shame, but way, totally, completely worse, because it was _Cid_ who the one who'd caught her.

As Cloud and Yuffie had emerged from the woods, they were delighted to see that everyone at camp remained asleep — although, Cloud, deep in his thoughts, couldn't help but worry about how vulnerable the party was without a sentinel to take watch during the night. A pang of guilt rang throughout his chest but was swiftly battered away by Yuffie, who must have seen the expression on his face before decidedly smacking his chest. She shook her head at him, as if to say, _"Relax. Nothing happened."_

Well, _something_ happened in those woods. Something awesome. The guilt in Cloud's chest was promptly replaced by a smugness, a realization of his own sexual talent. Victory. When Yuffie noticed him again, he heard her scoff in her throat. He grinned. Scoff or not, she knew he was good.

The ashes of the fire still smoldered, casting a scarlet aura around them. Cloud, hesitated for a brief moment before winking at Yuffie before loping off to make his bed. Yuffie couldn't help but notice how his shoulders bowed around him… how his feet almost seemed to drag. Despite their little escapade in the woods, it was clear that they still remained exhausted. They needed rest. Everything would be better in the morning.

And then Cid happened.

He, was in fact, _not asleep at all_ as Yuffie had trudged to her own space beside Tifa. Cid, instead, was sat just outside the ring of light surrounding the deadened fire, all of the angles of his face and body shrouded by darkness despite the full moon. Yuffie startled, dropping her blanket and quickly reaching for the shuriken that was normally latched onto her back. Her fingertips grasped at air however, and she faltered before realizing that she knew the voice who spoke to her.

"Ugh. This is so gross."

Yuffie heard the sound of something sloshing — something that sounded very much like the whiskey bottle Cid always kept on his person. If she was to have this conversation, she would need about half of it to keep from withering away out of humiliation.

Reluctantly, remorsefully, so mortified she wished she was dead, Yuffie shuffled over to where Cid sat, flopping down on the ground in a careless pile of limbs. She wordlessly extended a hand to her side, and when Cid handed her the bottle, she didn't so much as glance at him before chugging the whiskey straight from the top.

"You're telling me," he said his voice low and gruff. He snatched the whiskey away from her and downed another mouthful. "Out of all the yaw-hoo's here, pining away for Cloud, it had to be you."

Yuffie grumbled to herself. Everything was terrible. The night was abruptly freezing, the breeze a slice of ice. The stars were all dead lanterns in the sky… absolutely nothing in the entire world was good or happy. Orgasms did not exist.

"It's not like that," Yuffie said. She extended her hand for the bottle again.

He passed her the whiskey, but, Cid, being Cid, continued to mock her. He clicked his tongue — a habit of his when he's about to be sarcastic — and Yuffie braced herself for what was probably going to be a scathing reprimand.

"Oh, so that's what we're gonna go with, eh? _'_ It's not like that,'" he mimicked, his voice far too masculine — and even, bitter — to resemble anything like Yuffie's.

"You're a poor impressionist. Don't quit your day job," Yuffie spat. Oh wait. You don't _have_ one. How tragic."

Cid went silent then and Yuffie wondered if she'd been too quick to insult. After all, Cid hadn't _actually_ done anything wrong. He was merely curious and in the wrong place at the wrong time! Her fear was unfounded though, and Cid began to chuckle a few moments after that, the gruffness of his voice dissolving into something warmer, more friendly.

"Well, shit, kid. Didn't know ya were so touchy about him. Love's a bitch, huh?"

When Cid reached for the bottle, Yuffie leaned away from him. She took another swig of her own and swatted him away with her free hand.

"Hey!" Cid protested. "That's _my_ shit. Give it back!"

"I'm not in love with Cloud. He's an idiot! _You_ take it back!"

"Women fall in love with idiots every day. Nothin' new there."

"I swear to God I will drink all of this just to spite you." Yuffie threateningly tilted the glass bottle up, towards her mouth.

Cid scowled at her. "No you won't. You'd die."

"A welcome change."

"Cloud would be sad if you died! The love of his life, gone! What would he do without you, kid?"

"Get five other girlfriends and then complain about them too."

"HA! SO YOU ADMIT IT."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Cid."

"Goddammit, what?!"

"I don't like the way you talk to Shera."

Cloud froze. Yuffie's tone — the sereneness of it, the careless curl of it in the air — was alarming. It reminded him of Larbeight and how she had approached him at their stay in Costa Del Sol. It was too casual… too lofty to be anything other than what was utterly dangerous.

She had an agenda.

The man named Cid, of course, turned beet red with barely concealed rage. He sucked his cigarette dry, heaving with brimming anger at Yuffie's dare to call him out on his own… sunken airplane. In what world did a broken airplane not sink anyway? And how was Cid able to keep his cigarettes dry despite being stranded in the middle of the ocean?

"What ya gonna do about it, kid?" Cid rasped in between several puffs. The head of the cigarette glowed a fierce red, mirroring Cid's rage on a minute scale. It transforming his mouth into a tiny stream of almost-fire, as if Cid was a dragon who could flame-throw whenever he opened his lips. Cloud remained silent. Tifa who was next to him, did the same.

Yuffie and Cid locked eyes — a clash of bright blue and grim hazel. As the ocean water lapped against the plane, she remained poised in her crouch, coiled tight and elegantly like a lion before its prey. After a thick, awkward moment of nothingness, Cid clicked his tongue and spat over the side of the _Tiny Bronco._

"Yeah, I thought so."

Mumbling an impressive number of expletives under his breath, Cid shuffled over to the middle of the airplane, where the control center was. Somehow he produced the tools necessary to open the hatch leading into it, and he promptly busied himself while Cloud and Tifa remained stiff with tension, trading glances between Yuffie and then each other. Yuffie sprung upright, her spine straightening with fluid motion, and Cloud felt like wincing. Even in their short time together, he could tell when Yuffie was up to something.

She wasn't finished with Cid yet.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Yuffie viciously snarled out a string of the most profane curses she could think of. The alcohol was warming her, thickening her from the inside out. Her mind felt like cotton balls and words were so much harder to find than before… but she definitely didn't mean to say that she was Cloud's _girlfriend_! She'd only meant that he had two as it was! Tifa and Aerith!

"I'm going to kill myself."

Yuffie looked at the bottle. It had been nearly full when she found Cid, and now it was at half-mast. Tomorrow morning was going to bring nothing but a wicked hangover. Oh, goodie. She drank another gulp despite this. If she was going to be hungover, she might as well make it count.

"Yuffie," Cid whined, "Give it back already!"

"Oh my god, fine. Here, you big baby," she replied. Cid greedily snatched the whiskey away from her.

"You drank too much of it," he muttered into its neck. "I need at least half to even get a buzz."

"My condolences for your alcoholism."

Cid laughed mid-drink and spent the subsequent few minutes coughing all of the whiskey out of his windpipe. Yuffie was quiet while he gasped for air, but she grinned to herself and took satisfaction in how off-guard she could catch Cid. Even when he caught her off-guard first.

Cid might not have felt a buzz… but Yuffie sure did. The night sky was spinning slightly, rotating back and forth on its endless axis. Somehow, the sky seemed more beautiful like this, as if it was a celestial candelabra adorned with infinite, tiny jewels that swayed back and forth to some sort of cosmic dance. While Cid continued to cough, Yuffie took advantage of his inability to speak.

"Cloud and I aren't dating. It's like, we're best friends, but we also have sex. Well, had sex. Once. Awhile ago. Now we just do foreplay—"

Cid began coughing harder, his face even in the lowlight of the fire embers turning a shade that looked kind of dangerous. He put his palm out to halt Yuffie from speaking but she was oblivious, too lost in the sky to see that Cid wanted _NOTHING_ more to do with this conversation anymore, and he was so, so sorry that he'd asked or started it, and now he only wished that his esophagus would close up for good and that he would die and not have to stand any more of this ridiculous and disgusting—

"—because there aren't any beds around. Which, by the way, is totally bogus. Like, shouldn't there just be random beds all over the world? I mean, people need to sleep. Where are they supposed to catch some rest? On the ground like us? Talk about a lack of hospitality. The world really just doesn't care, I guess. How else am I supposed to get laid?" She sighed. "But, anyway, Cloud is great. _Completely_ psychotic, but I trust him and he's hot and we just really have a good ti—"

"Yuffie—" Cid hacked out, his lungs sounding as if they'd turned to ash, "Shut up. _Shut the fuck up._ "

Yuffie's head snapped back down as her attention was brought to Cid, who was now doubled over and inhaling deeply through his nose and mouth. Her eyes widened in confusion — had he been coughing all this time? How did he not asphyxiate? Or less dramatically, pass out?

"Get it out, old man. Rebuke the devil." Yuffie grinned as she pretended to throw holy water on him.

"Fuck," Cid breathed out, "You."

Yuffie pressed her hands to her face and cackled into them so loudly it sounded like a fiend of some sort — a rogue summon materia that sounded like a crossbreed between a chocobo and imp, perhaps. She patted him on the back as he started laughing again, palm and wrist slightly limp due to the effects of the booze.

"There, there. It's all over now."

Cid groaned and ruffled his hair with a hand. "Along with my sanity and every good other thought in the world."

Yuffie scoffed, her hand turning into a fist on his shoulder blades. She lightly punched him.

" _You're_ the one who asked. If you hadn't started it, we wouldn't have had to get into my sex life," she said, a giant grin plastered across her mouth. "Or, a lack of one you could say, since Cloud and I only banged onc—-"

"I'll kill you," he half-whispered, half-rasped. Yuffie sunk into a fit of giggles at Cid's continuous discomfort because honestly, he deserved it and _she_ deserved a good laugh.

"Like how you tried to kill me when we first met?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It had all happened so fast. One minute, Cid was tinkering with the control panel, his big, meaty hands somehow completing a myriad of delicate processes with a precision that impressed even Cloud. Tifa sat quietly next to him, staring at the horizon of blue ocean and tilting her face towards the spray of the waves which lapped against the _Tiny Bronco._ The day was mild, warm really, if you could get past the insistent wind nipping at their bones. Cloud was momentarily reminded of his time on the Junon cargo ship, where he promised Aerith he would commandeer an airship and take her for a ride. What would the ocean look like from below? Would Aerith shift her face towards the sea salt as well, like Tifa? Where wold Tifa be during all of this anyway? With them, wandering the many hallways of the airship? Next to Aerith? Wouldn't that be awkward?

Such thoughts raced through Cloud's mind, and then there was violence and yelling and more swear words than Cloud had ever heard in his life — words that he didn't even know existed, yet somehow they were there in the air, wrapping around each of them like a banshee alarm.

"Yuffie!" Cloud shouted. What was she _doing_? And why was it always her who got into trouble?

They were moving, gliding on the airplane. Cid must have manipulated the controls in order to get the tiny airplane mobile so that they could tread through shallow waters. When he was daydreaming, he thought Yuffie had been pacing the length of the airplane as Cid worked, but now she and Cid were face to face and Cid was screaming at Yuffie about something to do with manners and puberty and _"stupid fucking infants trying to tell him what to do, and doesn't anyone have respect for their elders anymore?"_

"You're going to treat Shera more nicely from now on," Yuffie said in a low voice — her dangerous voice. The blank mask of mystery was on her face again, and though she was much smaller than Cid, despite the fact that she had to look up at him, she seemed to vibrate with strength and power. She seemed, in that instant, so much taller than the man who had hurled insults at the woman who'd saved his life on their failed journey to outer space.

"Oh yeah?" Cid sneered, another cigarette lit, closed between each lip. Every time he exhaled, smoke poured out of his mouth and into Yuffie's face, though she never flinched from it.

"What are you gonna do about it if I don't? That dumbass has it coming for ruining my life. My dream. All of it, gone, thanks to her," he despaired. "If I feel like calling her names, then I'm gonna call her the damn names. And there's nothing you can do about it—"

So fast, just as she'd been with Larbeight — so quick she practically blurred, Yuffie in one fluid motion unhooked the shuriken from her back and propped it against Cid's chest so that the outer blades met with the soft flesh of his neck. He silenced himself immediately as his face turned purple with outrage.

"Nothing I can go about it, huh?" Yuffie whispered. Cloud and Tifa jumped to their feet, mouths agape with disbelief at the young ninja and her willingness to go so far.

"Yuffie, cut it out!" Cloud commanded. His face, like everyone else's, with rigid with stress. "We're not starting a fight with the only guy who can get us to land."

Yuffie glowered with disapproval at Cloud's words, though she never took her eyes off Cid.

"I'm sick and tired of watching injustice happen right in front of our faces," she snarled. The mask was slipping, cracking, and cold fury was beginning to melt onto her features, turning them dark. Turning the hazel of her eyes into unfamiliar pits.

"Shera doesn't deserve that kind of treatment for saving his pathetic, miserable life," she continued. "And if I have to be the one who intervenes, then so be it."

Cloud took a step towards Yuffie, his palms raised in surrender. "It's not your job to police who's right and who's wrong, Yuffie. I don't like it anymore than you do, but we can't just go around and threaten everyone who's being a dick." Cloud shot a venomous glare at Cid, who returned it with equal fervor.

"This is ridiculous, " Cid spat. "Let me go, or I'll have to make you, kid."

"Yuffie…" Tifa murmured, her eyes beseeching Yuffie's. She wanted this calamity to end! At her voice, Yuffie's scowl faltered, and she frowned at Tifa before bringing her attention back to Cid, who remained frozen as her shuriken scraped against his throat.

Yuffie searched Cid's eyes, one by one, until the cold fury from her face dissipated, and all that was left was the mask. She took a singular step backwards and sheathed her shuriken in its place. Cloud exhaled long and slow. Close call.

Cid smirked at Yuffie, and then at Cloud, and then at the air where he closed his eyes and cracked his neck from side to side. He brought a hand to his throat, rubbing away the feeling of the shuriken against it, and began chuckling.

"That's the thing about you women," he grumbled happily. "You're all so damn weak, you can't ever pull through on your own threats. Should've taken the chance when you had it."

With a meaningful look at the three of them, Cid turned his attention around back to the control panel where he began steering the _Tiny Bronco_ towards their next destination. Cloud had about one second to process this image before Yuffie erupted in motion again before he could fathom a retaliation —which of course he should have — because this was _Yuffie_ we were talking about and _of course_ she was going to get back at Cid for that.

Ugh. Damn her. She always had to have the last word.

Somehow Yuffie had drop-kicked Cid so perfectly that he tumbled off the airplane. He began flailing in the water, kicking against the current and screaming, but Yuffie was already there where he fell, his clothes a fist in her hand which meant she was the only thing preventing Cid from being sucked underneath the plane… where he would inevitably be eviscerated by the propellers. Cloud felt a shout bile in the valley of his stomach.

Cid was doomed.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Actually, it was you who tried to kill me," Cid chuckled, face a pleasant red with all of the booze and the fondness of the memory.

"Was it?" Yuffie teased. "I can't recall. Hm. How funny."

Cid slipped into a fit of chuckles and took another swig of the whiskey.

"Yeah, fuckin' hilarious."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Tifa grabbed onto Cloud, both of her fists flowing with the power of the materia equipped into her gloves.

"Cloud, what do we do?"

Cloud shook his head. This was too much. Too far. Yuffie was way too impulsive to be allowed to interact with _anyone_. If it was his choice, he'd lock her away where she could take a time out. He'd ground her or something. But they were in the middle of the ocean, and since grounding her was not a viable choice, Cloud merely swallowed down his disapproval and slowly walked to where Yuffie held onto Cid. What surprised him was Yuffie's face — there was no trace of rage on it, but rather, a playful impishness, that seemed rather inappropriate at a time like this.

It's not like it was friggin' recess!

He put a hand on her shoulder, just as he did at Costa Del Sol. This time, however, she did not dismiss him.

"Yuffie, stop this. Let's pull him back up and we can scream at him like normal human beings."

Although the _Tiny Bronco_ wasn't moving too rapidly, it was still maintaining a fair pace and Cid struggled against the pull of the motion beneath him.

"What are ya, fuckin' crazy?!" he screamed, his head bobbing in and out of the water. "What the fuck?! Get me out of here, you crazy stupid broad!"

Yuffie grinned, a terrifying gesture. "What was that?" she yelled back down so Cid could hear. "I can't hear you over your raging misogyny! Do you need help?"

Cid, choking a bit on sea water, ground his teeth in frustration. He looked to Cloud, who also leaned over the airplane to gaze down at him.

"Put her in her place, would ya?!"

Cloud wrinkled his nose. Her place, huh? Where exactly did Yuffie belong to be, besides in a dungeon of some sort where she couldn't wreak havoc on people like the little gremlin she was? Still… even with his life at stake, Cid was still an ass. It was becoming harder to disagree with Yuffie's methods as Cid hurled expletive after expletive at her.

"I'm not gonna kill him, Cloud," Yuffie muttered so that only he could hear. "I just want to scare some etiquette into him. You know, show him who's boss," she finished with a smile. Cloud had a hard time suppressing his own. That was his favorite smile of hers — the reckless one that abandoned reason. It was infectious.

Cloud turned his gaze onto Cid. "Hey, man. Just promise to quit being a dick. That's all you have to do, okay?" Was it ever really that easy though?

Whatever Cid in reply to Cloud was lost as Yuffie extended her reach so that he sunk below the water.

"Yuffie!"

Her devilish smile never faded. "What? Haven't you ever heard of water-boarding before? It's a process, Cloud, trust me."

And so the process continued for what seemed like hours, although it couldn't have been more than 15 minutes. To Yuffie and Cloud, it was nothing. To, Cid, however…

"Okay!" he yelped as Yuffie brought him above the surface once more. "Okay, fine. I'll _try_ to be nicer to Shera. Maybe she doesn't deserve everything I say about her. Now pull me the fuck up!"

Cloud rocked back on his heels and Yuffie, delighted with the surrender, sighed contentedly.

"Promise?"

Cid visibly muttered something to himself, and his face turned red again. "Fine. I … fuckin' promise. I guess. Goddammit."

With Cloud's help, Yuffie yanked Cid back onto the _Tiny Bronco_ where he kneeled, coughing and sputtering and gagging out salt water. Yuffie kneeled next to him and slapped her palm against his spine, helping all of the ocean out of him.

"There, there. It's all over now."

Unexpectedly, Cid began laughing so hard that he had to brace his hands on the plane too, so that he was on all fours. Cloud, Tifa, and Yuffie exchanged bewildered glances. Maybe it was a mental breakdown. Who knew?

"You got some balls, kid," Cid said in between each string of chuckles. "You got some big, masculine balls somewhere in that tiny ass body of yours."

Cloud and Tifa grimaced at the imagery, whereas Yuffie returned his laughter. She continued patting Cid on the back.

"Vaginas are way more durable than your shitty boy-balls, but sure. I'll take the compliment."

Cid only laughed harder at that.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"You should know better than to bring up genitals," Yuffie said, eyeing the full moon as if it was about to fall out of the sky. "I have no problem talking about mine the way you talk about the male anatomy."

Cid _harrumphed_ in agreement. "Guess I should think it through from now on."

"That's probably a good idea."

Cid offered Yuffie what was left of the whiskey, but she waved it away. "No thanks. I'm going to be dead tomorrow morning, or wishing that I was."

"Mhm."

"And," she continued, meeting Cid's gaze in the hazy dark they resided in, "You don't have to worry about me and Cloud. It's not what you think it is. It's just blowing off steam."

Cid's mouth turned down at the corners — a movement visible even to Yuffie, despite the darkness.

"I'm always gonna worry 'bout you, kid. I just want you to be careful. Something like that can turn into something else in the blink of an eye."

Yuffie then mirrored his frown.

"And Cloud's sword is huge, so I'm not sure that I could beat him in a fight. But I'd try. For you. Maybe."

Yuffie swallowed down a lump in her throat. She crawled over to where Cid sat and threw her arms around him. He grumbled something — something about _"you're making it awkward"_ — but Yuffie hugged him anyway, until she was done and rested on her laurels.

"Are you going to stay up for the rest of the night?" she asked him.

Cid nodded in affirmation. "Yeah. Can't sleep after picturing the two of you… fornicating in the woods. Ugh," he gagged to himself, causing Yuffie to break into giggles. "If I went to sleep now, I'd just have nightmares, so yeah, I'm stayin' up."

"That's all your fault, you know."

"Yeah, yeah. I know."

"'Kay. As long as you know it."

"Gee, thanks."

She knew it would "make it awkward", but Yuffie leaned over and kissed Cid on the cheek. He practically jolted in his seat, making the bottle in his hands swish and slosh from side to side. When she laughed, Cid cracked a smile because damn that kid and her affections, and damn Cloud for noticing and accepting them, and damn everything because there was not enough FUCKING whiskey for him to have any _real_ fun that night, but he was feeling pretty good after that trip down memory lane anyway.

Yuffie darted away with a ghostly laughter which seemed to linger in the air far after she had gone and settled in next to Tifa, who unconsciously wrapped herself around Yuffie. There were only a few hours left in the night so keeping watch wasn't going to be hard by any means. The only difficult part would probably be scrubbing that SHIT about Cloud out of his goddamn head, which would undoubtedly take awhile. While he was glad the kid wasn't in love with him, it still made Cid feel a little nauseous to know that she very well _could_ be one day, because they all knew — they ALL knew — that Cloud would end up with either Tifa or Aerith, and that was it. Which is how it should be, since Yuffie deserved so much more than that dumbass. Cloud was a good guy, but damn, was he an air-head.

Then again, so was the kid.

* * *

woooo i got this one out "relatively" fast (FOR ME), and i just really wanted to have fun with this one because this fic started out fun and i wanna keep it that way! :D thank you everyone for your feedback so far and on the last chapter, it really helps gives me motivation to keep writing! obvi this isn't a linear chapter but has flashbacks incorporated into it - from current day to when they first met cid! i have a feeling yuffie wouldn't have been able to sit around and let cid treat shera that way so i just started daydreaming and here was the result! hope you like it! god i have so much more to write lmao xoxo (also sorry if this isn't good writing, i'm literally so rusty but i'll get back into it soon)


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